A
young gay couple are in jail after being found ‘guilty’ of homosexuality in
Morocco.
Prosecutors sped through a trial, before
an investigation had even been completed and they weren’t able to get proper
legal representation.
The couple, who GSN will not name to
protect their safety, had gone to a deserted area in the outskirts of Guelmim,
a southern city of the north African country, on 26 May.
Police reportedly caught the two young
men having sex in their car and arrested them under article 489 of the Penal
Code, which criminalizes ‘lewd or unnatural acts with an individual of the same
sex’.
Despite the public prosecutor ordering a
full investigation to be conducted before it was presented to the city’s Court
of First Instance, the two men were quickly found guilty.
The gay couple were handed a sentence of
six months.
Aswat Collective, the gay rights
organization based in Morocco, told Gay Star News that lawyers had refused to
defend the detainees because they had been charged with homosexuality.
‘The detainees asked for an appeal,’ a
spokesperson told GSN. ‘The file of the detainees will be transferred to the
Court of Appeal in Agadir.’
Morocco has seen several arrests of gay
people across the country, with the most high profile case being in Beni
Mellal.
In March, a mob caught a gay couple
having sex and brutally assaulted the two of them. The couple were then
arrested for the ‘crime’ of homosexuality. A video of the attack went viral
online.
Human rights organizations are attempting
to repeal the law that criminalizes homosexuality and free the people who are
in jail for gay sex.
Those charged under article 489 of the
Penal Code face sentences ranging from three months to six years in prison and
a find of up to MAD 1,200 ($125, €110). [gaystarnews.com, 2/6/2016]
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