“Hero” of Nador’s Controversial Facebook Kiss Tells his Story

Sidi Ifni- Mouhssin, a Moroccan teenager who was arrested alongside a girl for posting pictures of themselves kissing online, has found the courage to tell his real story and apologize to everyone for sparking this alleged controversy. 

In a video posted on YouTube, Mouhsin said that it was the girl who posted the pictures and that he did not expect that they would be arrested for the kiss.

“A week after the pictures were posted, we were immediately arrested. Human rights associations demanded the arrest. And it is not their business in the first place,” Mouhssin told Nador City.

Only one human rights group in Nador called for their arrest, while the majority expressed solidarity with the teenagers and call on the authorities to release them.  

The teenagers,  aged between 14 and 15, were arrested after a Moroccan NGO filed a lawsuit last month charging that the photos they published had a negative affect on society and upset people’s feelings.

The event, Mouhsin added, has brought him much shame at school and at home. In addition to losing the respect of his friends and teachers, Mouhsin explained that he wasn’t satisfied with the repercussions of the kiss.

“I’ve developed a complex because of this. And this is really sad,” Mouhsin noted.

“People make fun of me in the street, at school, at home and everywhere else. They blame me for spreading indecency even if it was the girl who shared the pictures, not me,” he added.

He stressed that it was the girl who made a grave mistake by divulging everything about their love story.

“If I knew that the kiss would cause such a outcry, I wouldn’t have indulged in such a relationship with the girl,” he said.

 As a result of his controversial kiss, Mouhssin said that parents, teachers, and the headmaster began to warn girls of his age against such relationships.

He admitted that he now has bad reputation in his neighborhood. 

“No one likes me. Everyone accuses me of immorality. But, no one is accusing the girl who shared the pictures on Facebook,” he noted.

Regretting indulging in kissing, Mouhsin also recounted his suffering upon the arrest.

“I was arrested by police officer and put next to smokers. I have never smoked. I am a respectful boy,” he narrated.

“Everyone calls me a bad, disrespectful boy,” he added.

Various agencies in both the national and international media have shared mixed opinion on this kiss; some saying that it spread indecency in a socially conservative and Muslim country, while many others showed signs of solidarity and initiated dialogues on the freedom of speech and expression.  It is expected that this video will enlighten people even more about Mouhsin’s real story and the implications of this event. 

Edited by Anna Jacobs