Rabat – Rachid Bougha
Gulf tourists and Moroccan girls convicted in prostitution case
Rabat – Rachid Bougha
The Moroccan Court of Marrakech sentenced three gulf tourists and three Moroccan girls to a month in prison on Monday evening, after the group was arrested and taken away from an apartment they
used to use for prostitution last week. The action highlights increasing prosecution for moral issues in Morocco's Islamic government.
The verdict was considered an exception by the country’s public opinion, as in similar cases the Court usually releases the tourists and charges the girls of prostitution, like it happened recently with an Italian tourist who faced the same charge.
Moreover, local media reported that the Court of Casablanca ordered the arrest of a bar owner who was accused of “drinking in public and selling alcohol to Muslims,” which is considered to be the first case of its kind in the Moroccan judiciary.
Last week, Moroccan media reported that the Islamic government launched a fierce attack against corruption, including prostitution, and the phenomenon of “sex tourism." Moroccan authorities expelled a Spanish filmmaker from Tangier and arrested three Gulf Arab tourists accompanied by girls in Marrakech, while workers in Fez detained a group of tourists who were allegedly shooting a “porn movie."