Homosexuality in Morocco
Homosexuality in Morocco , especially homosexual acts , is a criminal offense, but state prosecution only comes about if it is carried out in public.
Legal position
According to Article 489 of the Criminal Code, homosexual acts are illegal in Morocco and can be punished with a sentence of six months to three years and a fine of 120 to 1200 dirhams . Nevertheless, homosexual intercourse is practiced especially in vacation areas and offered for money. For more than 2 years only public practice has been punished. If charges are made against a homosexual, the police extort money from him and then release him. However, under pressure from the Muslim side, the law was increasingly applied again in the early 2000s. In 2004, a 66-year-old British man and an 18-year-old Moroccan under the age of consent were each sentenced to one year in prison for showing their homosexuality in public.
Moroccan call boys are often arrested , with European suitors being arrested in the rarest of cases.
A court in Marrakech in 2006 sentenced 13 men involved in a set for a gay pornography film to a total of 30 years in prison, from six months to six years for the individual accused.
Anti-discrimination laws
There is no anti-discrimination law in Morocco.
Civil partnerships
There is no state recognition of same-sex couples due to their illegality.
Social situation
Socially, homosexual acts are viewed as immoral and treated as a taboo subject. Relationships between same-sex couples are usually not shown in public in Morocco due to state and social persecution.
See also
Web links
- GlobalGayz.com: Gay Morocco (English)
- Marc Dugge: Gay in Morocco: Living with Fear and Lies - The nightmare began with YouTube ( memento from April 14, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) , tagesschau.de, April 12, 2009
Individual evidence
- ↑ Wueer.de: sentenced in Morocco , October 5th of 2004.
- ↑ Morocco Times , March 6, 2006
- ↑ Die Zeit: Breaking gay taboos in a homophobic world