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.
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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.
The video that caused the scandal
Posted 1 December 2007
A protest march in Ksar el Kébir
Posted 29 November 2007.
Comment from the president of the Moroccan Association of Human Rights (AMDH)
A well-known member of this association (the Moroccan Association of Human Rights) signed a petition demanding ‘an official investigation into the celebration of a homosexual marriage.' He was remanded by the AMDH, who said that one complaint was not enough to take action.This affair was private from the outset, and it should remain like that. Whilst basing their tales on rumours and lies, the media enflamed the matter further. The situation was then exploited by Islamists for political purposes, resulting in violence against the party guests, who found their homes attacked by an angry mob. The sentencing of the party organiser and some of the guests was unjust. There was no evidence and the case was handled subjectively. In fact, I'm worried that this whole business will cause us to oversee the real problems of our society: misery; illiteracy; and injustice. And regarding the AMDH member who signed the petition, his position doesn't reflect the official position of the association at all. We work for the respect of private life. He acted under his own name".