morals

15/12/2007 > MOROCCO

Gay witch-hunt in Ksar el Kébir

Rumours of a supposedly gay marriage, reported by the local press, lead to a modern-day witch-hunt in Ksar el Kébir, Morocco. At the heart of the scandal is a private party that took place at the end of last month. The organiser, according to the minister of interior, wanted to ‘act out a fantasy in which a woman asks him to dress like her and offer a present to saint Sayad Al Madloum'. It was the images below, shot at the party and posted on YouTube, that really stirred up the trouble. Thousands of Ksar el Kébir residents took to the streets to protest against the offence, clapping and chanting homophobic slogans. On 10 December, the party organiser was charged for ‘sexual perversion' and the ‘illegal sale of alcohol'. He was sentenced to ten months in jail. Read more...

Post your questions to our Observer, Larbi el Hilali and to Khadija Ryadi, president of the Moroccan Association of Human Rights.