Morocco mob beat "gay" man on Fes street
A crowd in Fes have been filmed assaulting a man, believed by them to be gay, before a policeman scares off the crowd.
2 min read
The assault happened in the city of Fes [Getty]
Videos have emerged showing a crowd in Morocco beat a man presumed to be gay, yesterday.
A three-minute video posted on website Goud showed the man in Fes appearing to wear a white dress and being viciously attacked by a crowd of young men.
He has his clothes torn in the melee, and tries to take cover in a shop before he is saved by a policeman who holds up a gun to disperse the crowd.
The video has sparked a wide debate in Morocco about social intolerance in the country, with some comparing it to the barbarity of the Islamic State group's public executions.
"Why act like savages? Why stoop so low? Teach your children the principles of Islam which prioritises treating people well and humanely above all. You have become like Daesh [IS]," one Moroccan commented.
Others are concerned that conservative social laws are creeping into Morocco.
Hamid Chambat blamed the victim for dressing inappopriately during Ramadan.
"As for the vicious campaign carried out by international and foreign organisations regarding LGBT rights. These aim at creating fitna [sedition] in our country, yet everyone must respect Ramadan," he said.
Morocco's justice ministry have said they are looking into the matter.
"The case will be dealt with firmly against those who stand in for the law, which is the sole preserve of the state," it said.
However, Goud said that the man himself could face legal action over homosexuality, but this was later denied by an official of Morocco's human rights association.
On June 19, two men were jailed for four months for kissing in public in Rabat, convicted of an "affront to public decency" and an "unnatural act with a person of the same sex".
Homosexual activity is punishable in Morocco by up to three years in jail.
Earlier in June, weekly magazine Maroc Hebdo was forced to withdraw its latest edition featuring a front cover headline asking, "Should we burn gays?"
Another weekly, Tel Quel, has published an editorial appearing to support the decriminalisation of homosexuality.
"Homosexuals are not deviant nor sick," it wrote. "Consensual love between two adults is not a crime."
Human Rights Watch has called on the kingdom to drop its controversial anti-homosexuality law.
A three-minute video posted on website Goud showed the man in Fes appearing to wear a white dress and being viciously attacked by a crowd of young men.
He has his clothes torn in the melee, and tries to take cover in a shop before he is saved by a policeman who holds up a gun to disperse the crowd.
The video has sparked a wide debate in Morocco about social intolerance in the country, with some comparing it to the barbarity of the Islamic State group's public executions.
"Why act like savages? Why stoop so low? Teach your children the principles of Islam which prioritises treating people well and humanely above all. You have become like Daesh [IS]," one Moroccan commented.
Others are concerned that conservative social laws are creeping into Morocco.
Hamid Chambat blamed the victim for dressing inappopriately during Ramadan.
"As for the vicious campaign carried out by international and foreign organisations regarding LGBT rights. These aim at creating fitna [sedition] in our country, yet everyone must respect Ramadan," he said.
Morocco's justice ministry have said they are looking into the matter.
"The case will be dealt with firmly against those who stand in for the law, which is the sole preserve of the state," it said.
 |
The case will be dealt with firmly against those who stand in for the law. - Morocco Justice Ministry |
However, Goud said that the man himself could face legal action over homosexuality, but this was later denied by an official of Morocco's human rights association.
On June 19, two men were jailed for four months for kissing in public in Rabat, convicted of an "affront to public decency" and an "unnatural act with a person of the same sex".
Homosexual activity is punishable in Morocco by up to three years in jail.
Earlier in June, weekly magazine Maroc Hebdo was forced to withdraw its latest edition featuring a front cover headline asking, "Should we burn gays?"
Another weekly, Tel Quel, has published an editorial appearing to support the decriminalisation of homosexuality.
"Homosexuals are not deviant nor sick," it wrote. "Consensual love between two adults is not a crime."
Human Rights Watch has called on the kingdom to drop its controversial anti-homosexuality law.
Follow the Middle East's top stories in English at The New Arab on Google News
More In News
![Israeli forces ordered bombed Gaza's Jabalia, ordering residents to leave [Getty]](/sites/default/files/styles/image_156x88/public/2176418030.jpeg?h=a5f2f23a&itok=srmqckaL)
