Article 483 of the Criminal Code states that anyone who commits obscene acts in public is liable to imprisonment for up to two years, and a fine of up to MAD 500 ($50).
Rabat – A 17-year-old girl and her 22-year-old boyfriend may be facing jail time after photos and videos of the Moroccan couple kissing in front of a high school appeared on social media.
Gendarmes took the pair into custody in the rural Moroccan town of Tighirt, in the Sidi Ifni region 263 kilometers east of Marrakech, on Sunday, November 17.
The couple first faced backlash online for their “indecency,” especially because the girl in the photos is wearing a hijab. Now that the police are involved, the students risk prison and fines for violating Morocco’s Criminal Code.
Article 483 of the Criminal Code states that anyone who commits obscene acts in public is liable to imprisonment for up to two years, and a fine of up to MAD 500 ($50).
The 17-year-old girl has been released, and the 22-year-old man remains in custody. The investigation is still ongoing under the supervision of the competent public prosecutor’s office.
The incident echoes a similar scandal from May 2018, when police in Morocco’s Guelmim Noun region arrested a young couple for kissing during Ramadan.
The arrests prompted a public outcry from human rights activists around the world. The teenagers were later acquitted by the court.
