The suspect allegedly raped a 14-year-old girl in Marrakech in July 2019.
Rabat – The Moroccan Association for Human Rights condemned the provisional release of a Kuwaiti national who was involved in the alleged rape of a minor last year in Morocco.
The association voiced its surprise at a Moroccan court’s decision to order the temporary release of the man for a fine estimated at MAD 30,000 ($3,000).
The statement condemns the decision of the court to release the man without confiscating his passport.
“Granting the man a temporary release and not confiscating his passport gives him the opportunity to escape Morocco and punishment,” the association argued.
The rape case dates back to July from last year when a 14-year-old girl disappeared in Marrakech for days before she appeared again.
The victim told her parents that the Kuwaiti man violently raped her in an apartment and paid her MAD 3,600. She explained that the man hid her in the trunk of his car to avoid confrontation with security personnel while entering the apartment building.
“We, at the Moroccan Association for Human Rights’ branch in Marrakech, consider sexual exploitation of children and their rape flagrant violations of children’s rights, the international law of human rights, and the convention on the Rights of Child,” the association said.
The statement added that such crimes are one of the dangerous crimes against minors.
Several cases of sexual assault against children have sparked outrage in the country, including the case of Felix Ramos, a Spanish celebrity who raped two minors in Morocco.
A Tangier judge sentenced Ramos in November 2019 to nine years in prison after finding him guilty of statutory rape and indecent assault of two minors.
Articles 486 and 488 of Morocco’s Criminal Code state that rape or attempted rape of children under the age of 18 is punishable with 10 to 20 years in prison.
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