Morocco court upholds jail for 6 for homosexual acts

From Reuters

Tue 15 Jan 2008, 21:00 GMT

RABAT, Jan 15 (Reuters) - A Moroccan appeal court on Tuesday upheld
the convictions of six men jailed for homosexual acts after video
images of a man dressed as a woman dancing at a party sparked street
protests and a police investigation, lawyers said.

The six were arrested in late November after rumours spread that a
party they had held in the northern town of Ksar el Kebir was really
an illegal gay wedding.

The national press pounced on the story, and Islamist groups
condemned what they saw as an attack on public morals and demanded an
official investigation.

Hundreds of angry residents marched through Ksar el Kebir to demand
"justice" and put pressure on the authorities to hand out harsh
sentences.

The six men were found guilty and given jail sentences by a lower
court last month. They had all pleaded not guilty.

The appeal court upheld a 10-month sentence against the party's
alleged organiser, identified as F., for homosexuality and the illegal
sale of alcohol, defence lawyer Mohamed Sebbar said.

The five others had their jail terms cut to between two and four
months from between four and six months, he said. All six had pleaded
not guilty to the charges.

"It's a very severe judgment because this case is empty," said
Sebbar. "There is no proof that these men practised homosexuality in
the affair of Ksar el Kebir."

"Lewd or unnatural acts" between people of the same sex are crimes
under Moroccan law and those found guilty face between six months and
three years in jail and a fine of up to 1,000 Moroccan dirhams ($130).

Amnesty International said it considered the men to be prisoners of
conscience and called for their immediate release.

"We're also concerned for their safety," said Amnesty's Benedicte
Goderiaux. "Some of them should get out of prison within about 15 days
-- what will happen to them after all the public threats against
them?" (Reporting by Tom Pfeiffer and Zakia Abdennebi; editing by Tim
Pearce)

Morocco sentences gay ‘bride’ to jail; 6 people sentenced for homosexuality

From Al-Arabiya

December 12, 2007

Six people sentenced for homosexuality

Morocco sentences gay 'bride' to jail

The six men were sentenced to between four and ten months jail (File)

RABAT (AFP)

A court in northern Morocco has sentenced six Moroccans to between four and ten months in prison for "homosexuality", one of the detained men's lawyers told AFP Wednesday.

The harshest penalty was given to Fouad Friret, who was ordered to serve 10 months in prison and pay 1,000 dirhams (100 euros, 150 dollars) for the crimes of homosexuality and selling alcohol illegally, his lawyer Mohamed Sebbar said.

Homosexuality carries a maximum three-year prison sentence in Morocco.

Sebbar said the verdict, delivered Monday in the northern town of Ksar El Kebir, was unfair.

"The homosexual act that the six were accused of was not proven, there were no witnesses, nor was there neither date nor place of the supposed act," he said.

The issue dates back to November 18, when a private party was organized in Ksar El Kebir, reported in the press as a "gay marriage".

On November 23, numerous Islamist militants took part in a violent rally against homosexuality in the town.

Protesters clashed with police, looted a jewelry store supposedly belonging to one of the participants of the private party, and ravaged the home of one of the party organizers who fled to the police station.

Morocco: Overturn Verdicts for Homosexual Conduct - from Human Rights Watch (HRW)

From the Human Rights Watch

Morocco: Overturn Verdicts for Homosexual Conduct
Convictions Violate Right to Privacy

(New York, December 12, 2007) – The criminal verdicts in Morocco against six men sentenced to prison for homosexual conduct should be set aside and the men released, Human Rights Watch said today. 

The court of first instance in Ksar el-Kbir, a small city about 120 kilometers south of Tangiers, convicted the men on December 10 of violating article 489 of Morocco's penal code, which criminalizes "lewd or unnatural acts with an individual of the same sex." According to lawyers for the defendants, the prosecution failed to present any evidence that the men actually had engaged in the prohibited conduct in the first place.

"These men are behind bars for private acts between consenting adults that no government has any business criminalizing in the first place," said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch. "The men's rights to privacy and freedom of expression have been violated, and the court has convicted them without apparent evidence; they should be set free." 

The men have been in jail since they were first arrested by the police between November 23 and 25, 2007, after a video circulated online – including on YouTube – purporting to show a private party, allegedly including the men, taking place in Ksar el-Kbir on November 18. Press reports claimed the party was a "gay marriage." Following the arrests, hundreds of men and women marched through the streets of Ksar el-Kbir, denouncing the men's alleged actions and calling for their punishment.

Abdelaziz Nouaydi, a Rabat lawyer on the men's defense team, said that the judge convicted the men even though the prosecution presented no evidence showing that an act violating Article 489 had occurred and offered only the video as evidence. The video showed no indications of sexual activity. The men all pleaded innocent to offenses under the article, which has a statute of limitation of five years. At the trial, the judge refused to release the men provisionally pending their appeals.

Criminalizing consensual, adult homosexual conduct violates human rights protection in international law. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which Morocco has ratified, bars interference with the right to privacy. The United Nations Human Rights Committee has condemned laws against consensual homosexual conduct as violations of the ICCPR. The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has held that arrests for consensual homosexual conduct are, by definition, human rights violations.

In the preamble to its constitution, Morocco "subscribes to the principles, rights, and obligations" consequent on its membership in organizations including the United Nations "and reaffirms its attachment to human rights as they are universally recognized."

The court sentenced three defendants to six months in prison and two defendants to four months; it sentenced the sixth, who it also convicted of the unauthorized sale of alcohol, to 10 months. The defendants range in age from 20 to 61 years old.

In a private letter to Moroccan Justice Minister Abdelwahed Radi before the trial, Human Rights Watch urged the government to drop the charges and release the men. The letter also urged authorities to ensure the men's physical safety, in light of the large and menacing mass demonstrations that took place against them.

"In applying an unjust law in an unjust fashion, the Ksar el-Kbir court has fueled the forces of intolerance in Morocco," said Whitson. "If Morocco truly aspires to be a regional leader on human rights, it should lead the way in decriminalizing homosexual conduct."

Article 489 of the Moroccan Penal Code punishes homosexual conduct with sentences between six months and three years in prison and fines of 120 to 1,200 dirhams (US $15 to $150). 

 For more information, please contact:
In Washington, DC, Eric Goldstein (English, French): +;1-202-612-4364; or +;1-917-519-4736
In New York, Scott Long (English): +;1-212-216-1297; or +;1-646-641-5655 (mobile)
In Cairo, Gasser Abdel-Razek (Arabic, English): +20-2-2-794- 5036; or +20-10-502-9999 (mobile)


للنشر الفوري

المغرب: يجب إلغاء الأحكام الصادرة جرّاء السلوك المثلي
الإدانة تنتهك الحق في الخصوصية

(نيويورك، 12 ديسمبر/كانون الأول 2007) – قالت هيومن رايتس ووتش اليوم إن الأحكام الجنائية الصادرة ضد ستة رجال محكومين بالسجن جراء انتهاج السلوك المثلي يجب أن تُنحى جانباً وأن يتم إطلاق سراح الرجال.

وكانت محكمة ابتدائية في القصر الكبير، وهي مدينة صغيرة تقع على مسافة 120 كيلومتراً جنوبي طنجة، قد أدانت الرجال في 10 ديسمبر/كانون الأول بموجب الفصل 489 من "مجموعة القانون الجنائي"، والتي تُجرم "أفعال الشذوذ الجنسي مع شخص من جنسه". وطبقاً لمحاميّ المتهمين، فلم يقدم الادعاء أي دليل على تورط الرجال فعلياً في الفعل المحظور من الأساس.

وقالت سارة ليا ويتسن، المديرة التنفيذية لقسم الشرق الأوسط وشمال أفريقيا في هيومن رايتس ووتش: "هؤلاء الرجال خلف القبضان جراء أفعال خاصة تمت بالتراضي بين أشخاص بالغين ولا علاقة لأي حكومة بتجريم هذه الأفعال من الأساس، وقد تعرض حق الرجال في الخصوصية وحرية التعبير للانتهاك، وأدانتهم المحكمة دون دليل ظاهر؛ إذن يجب إطلاق سراحهم".

ودخل الرجال السجن منذ اعتقالهم على يد الشرطة بين 23 و25 نوفمبر/تشرين الثاني، وهذا بعد توزيع تسجيل فيديو على الإنترنت – وتم توزيعه أيضاً بواسطة موقع YouTube – ويبدو أنه يعرض حفلاً خاصاً يشمل الرجال – حسب الزعم – وأحداثه تجري في القصر الكبير في 18 نوفمبر/تشرين الثاني. وزعمت التقارير الصحفية أن الحفل كان "عرس شواذ". وبعد الاعتقالات خرج مئات الرجال والنساء في مسيرات إلى شوارع القصر الكبير، لإدانة الأفعال المزعوم أن الرجال ارتكبوها وللمطالبة بعقابهم.

وقال عبد العزيز النويضي، وهو محامي من الرباط في فريق الدفاع عن المتهمين، إن القاضي أدان الرجال حتى رغم أن الادعاء لم يقدم دليلاً يُظهر وقوع فعل يخالف الفصل 489 ولم يقدم إلا تسجيل الفيديو كدليل. ولا يظهر في تسجيل الفيديو ما يشير إلى أي نشاط جنسي. وطالب الرجال جميعاً بالبراءة من الاتهامات الموجهة إليهم بموجب هذا الفصل، والحد الأقصى لتطبيق المادة قبل سقوط الجريمة المذكورة فيها بالتقادم هو خمسة أعوام. وفي المحاكمة رفض القاضي الإفراج عن الرجال بصفة مؤقتة حتى طعنهم في الحكم.

وتجريم السلوك المثلي بين البالغين بالتراضي ينتهك أشكال حماية حقوق الإنسان المذكورة في القانون الدولي. فالعهد الدولي الخاص بالحقوق المدنية والسياسية، الذي صادق عليه المغرب، يحظر التدخل في الحق في الخصوصية. وأدانت لجنة حقوق الإنسان بالأمم المتحدة القوانين التي تُجرم السلوك الجنسي الطوعي باعتبار أن هذا مخالفة للعهد الدولي الخاص بالحقوق المدنية والسياسية. وقال الفريق العامل المعني بالاحتجاز التعسفي بالأمم المتحدة إن اعتقال الأشخاص بسبب السلوك المثلي الطوعي هو، من حيث المبدأ، انتهاك لحقوق الإنسان.

وفي تصدير الدستور المغربي جاء أن المملكة المغربية "تتعهد بالالتزام بما تقتضيه مواثيقها من مبادئ وحقوق وواجبات" تترتب على عضويتها في منظمات منها الأمم المتحدة "وتؤكد تشبتها بحقوق الإنسان كما هي متعارف عليها عالمياً".

وقد حكمت المحكمة على ثلاثة من المتهمين بالحبس لمدة ستة أشهر وعلى اثنين منهم بأربعة أشهر. كما حكمت على السادس، الذي أدين ببيع الخمور دون تصريح، بعشرة أشهر. وتتراوح أعمار المتهمين بين 20 و61 عاماً.

وفي رسالة خاصة بعثت بها هيومن رايتس ووتش قبل المحاكمة إلى وزير العدل المغربي عبد الواحد راضي، دعت هيومن رايتس ووتش الحكومة إلى إسقاط كل الاتهامات والإفراج عن الرجال. كما ناشدت الرسالة السلطات أن تضمن السلامة البدنية للرجال، على ضوء المظاهرات الجماعية الكبيرة والمنطوية على تهديد والتي تم تنظيمها ضدهم.

وقالت سارة ليا ويتسن: "بتطبيقها قانون غير عادل بطريقة غير عادلة فإن محكمة القصر الكبير قد أطلقت شرارة عدم التسامح في المغرب". وأضافت: "وإذا كانت المغرب تطمح حقاً في تولي دور ريادي في المنطقة بمجال حقوق الإنسان، فعليها أن تضرب المثل وتكون الأولى في عدم تجريم السلوك المثلي".

والفصل 489 من مجموعة القانون الجنائي تعاقب على السلوك الجنسي بالحبس من ستة أشهر إلى ثلاثة أعوام، وبالغرامة من 120 إلى 1200 درهم (15 إلى 150 دولاراً).

لمزيد من المعلومات، يُرجى الاتصال:
في واشنطن، إيريك غولدستين، (الإنجليزية والفرنسية): +;1-202-612-4364 أو +;1-917-519-4736
في نيويورك، سكوت لونغ (الإنجليزية): +;1-212-216-1297 أو +;1-646-641-5655 (خلوي)
في القاهرة، جاسر عبد الرازق (العربية والإنجليزية): +20-2-2-794- 5036 أو +20-10-502-9999 (خلوي)

---

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6 Moroccan Men Sentenced To Prison For 'Homosexuality'

by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff

Posted: December 12, 2007 - 1:00 pm ET

(New York City) Criminal verdicts in Morocco against six men sentenced
to prison for homosexual conduct should be set aside and the men
released an international human rights organization said Wednesday.

A court in Ksar el-Kbir, a small city about 120 kilometers south of
Tangiers, convicted the men this week of violating Morocco's penal
code, which criminalizes "lewd or unnatural acts with an individual of
the same sex".

The court sentenced three defendants to six months in prison and two
defendants to four months; it sentenced the sixth, who it also
convicted of the unauthorized sale of alcohol, to 10 months. The
defendants range in age from 20 to 61 years old.

According to lawyers for the defendants, the prosecution failed to
present any evidence that the men actually had engaged in the
prohibited conduct.

"These men are behind bars for private acts between consenting adults
that no government has any business criminalizing in the first place,"
said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East and North Africa director at
Human Rights Watch.

"The men's rights to privacy and freedom of expression have been
violated, and the court has convicted them without apparent evidence;
they should be set free."

The men have been in jail since they were first arrested by the police
between November 23 and 25, after a video circulated online purporting
to show a private party, allegedly including the men, taking place in
Ksar el-Kbir on November 18.

Press reports claimed the party was a "gay marriage."

Following the arrests, hundreds of men and women marched through the
streets of Ksar el-Kbir, denouncing the men's alleged actions and
calling for their punishment.

The video showed no indications of sexual activity.

The men all pleaded innocent. At the trial, the judge refused to
release the men provisionally pending their appeals.

Criminalizing consensual, adult homosexual conduct violates human
rights protection in international law, Human Rights Watch said.

The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which
Morocco has ratified, bars interference with the right to privacy. The
United Nations Human Rights Committee has condemned laws against
consensual homosexual conduct as violations of the ICCPR. The United
Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has held that arrests for
consensual homosexual conduct are, by definition, human rights
violations.

In the preamble to its constitution, Morocco "subscribes to the
principles, rights, and obligations" consequent on its membership in
organizations including the United Nations "and reaffirms its
attachment to human rights as they are universally recognized."

"In applying an unjust law in an unjust fashion, the Ksar el-Kbir
court has fueled the forces of intolerance in Morocco," said Whitson.

"If Morocco truly aspires to be a regional leader on human rights, it
should lead the way in decriminalizing homosexual conduct."

365Gay.com 2007

Gay' bride' beaten in Morocco

From United Press International

AL-QASR AL-KABIR, Morocco, Dec. 1 (UPI) -- Protesters in Morocco rioted over the lavish wedding of a gay couple whose celebration reportedly included slaying a bull and drinking its blood.

More than 600 people in al-Qasr al-Kabir turned out to condemn the northern city's leniency toward homosexuals and criticize the couple for a disintegration of Muslim values, al-Arabiya, a satellite TV station in Dubai, reported this week.

The bride, a well-known gay man named Foud, surrendered to police after being beaten and was sentenced to jail along with five wedding guests for violating laws against homosexuality, al-Arabiya reported. The whereabouts and identity of the groom were unknown.

The wedding, which lasted two days, resembled a traditional Moroccan ceremony with the bride adorned with jewelry over a gown. A bull given as a wedding gift was slain to the celebratory sound of ululations as the bride drank the bull's blood from a glass, one of the guests reported.

Though homosexuality is illegal in Morocco, gay men and women recently were allowed to form an advocacy group demanding equal rights and an end to discrimination.