France has issued an arrest warrant for the sister of Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman on suspicion of ordering her bodyguard to beat up a man at her Paris apartment, sources close to the case told AFP on Thursday.

The arrest warrant which names princess Hassa bint Salman using a French spelling of her name, Hussat ben Salmane, was issued in late December, a source said, confirming a report by Le Point magazine.

The alleged victim was hired to carry out some refurbishment work at the princess’s apartment, located on the ultra-expensive Avenue Foch in western Paris, in September 2016.

He maintains that he took a photograph of the room that he was set to work on and was accused of taking pictures to sell them to the media.

The worker alleges that the princess then ordered her bodyguard to beat him up.

He says he was punched in the face, his hands were tied and he was then forced to kiss the princess’s feet.

He was able to leave the apartment several hours later, according to his account – without his tools, which he says were confiscated.

The bodyguard was charged on 1 October 2016 with armed violence, theft, issuing death threats and holding someone against their will.