Two jailed in Morocco over violent homophobic attack
Two men have been sentenced to four months in prison in Morocco for attacking a man they thought was gay.
The two men, along with a crowd of others, beat the man in the city of Fez after accusing him of being gay.
The man was beaten to the ground by the crowd. He eventually managed to run to a nearby coffee shop to escape the attack. The group only dispersed when a nearby police officer fired his gun into the air.
The victim’s attempts to get himself to safety were captured on video. The video went viral on social media, leading to an outpouring of support for the victim. Over 70 lawyers offered their services to him.
Mustapha Jebbour, a member of the Moroccan Association of Human Rights, said that the victim is “still in shock and needs psychological support.”
Both perpetrators also had to pay a fine of 500 dirhams (£33) over the incident.
The justice ministry has said that it will “deal firmly” with “those who stand in for the law” by savagely beating gay men before calling the police first.
Homosexual activity is illegal in Morocco, and is punishable by up to three years in prison. Earlier this year, two men were sentenced to four months in prison (the same as the men who committed the above attack) for kissing in the street. The official conviction was for an “unnatural act with a person of the same sex”.
