Morocco: 4 years in prison on appeal for 4 rapists of a teenage girl
On November 15, 2023, the Moroccan judiciary increased the sentences of four men to four years in prison for the rape of a teenage girl in the south of the country, which had earned them one year in prison in 2021. These sentences had been considered lax by human rights groups.
Morocco: The court of Agadir on Thursday (November 16th) increased the sentence of the four accused of raping a teenage girl. In the first instance, they were sentenced to one year in prison, a verdict that shocked Moroccan human rights associations and public opinion with its leniency. © Getty Images/ Romilly Lockyer
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In Morocco, a sentence increased on appeal to four years in prison for the rapists of a teenage girl. The verdict was handed down by the Court of Appeal of Agadir.
In the first instance in 2021, the defendants were sentenced to one year in prison. The verdict shocked Moroccan human rights groups and the public with its leniency.
The four men were convicted of "indecent assault on a minor with violence". The facts date back to 2021, in a village near the city of Tata, in the southeast of the country. The victim was 15 years old at the time.
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As a women's rights activist, I don't think the verdict is satisfactory, but it's better than the sentences handed down in the first instance Aïcha Guellaa, president of the Moroccan Association for Victims' Rights, said briefly.
This ruling also echoes another case: last March, three men accused of raping an 11-year-old girl were sentenced to two years in prison. The decision had already provoked a wave of anger in the country. Following a strong mobilization of civil society denouncing the laxity of the justice system, the sentences were increased last April: 10 years and 20 years in prison.
Read alsoRape of a girl in Morocco: the defendants sentenced to between 10 and 20 years in prison on appeal
Moroccan rights activists are calling for a reform of the penal system to punish sexual crimes much more severely.
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