Chaos Erupts at Casablanca Rap Concert: Violence and Sexual Assault Allegations Spark Investigation

The rugby field of the RUC, where the concert was to be held, was packed several hours before the start. The main entrance could no longer receive spectators who continued to come in large numbers. They rushed towards another entrance, creating an overflow that pushed the organizers to close all access to the stadium at 8 p.m.

This is when the scenes of violence started. Some claim to have been attacked by individuals armed with sabers, while women confide that they have suffered groping. "An individual brandished a bladed weapon and ordered me to hand over everything I had on me. He told me that if we didn’t carry out his orders, he would kill us. We gave him our two wallets, our iPhone, our watches... He took everything," recounts on Instagram a spectator who came from Marrakech with his wife to attend the concert.

"As soon as they saw a girl alone, unaccompanied, they allowed themselves to touch her. I had never seen that in my life. This field could not contain all this crowd, a larger space would have been needed," laments another Internet user. For his part, Mohamed Merhari, known as Momo, co-artistic director of the L’Boulevard festival, gives his version of the facts in a video shared on Facebook. "We were surprised by the influx. [...] We had reached 20,000 spectators inside the stadium, and outside, there were still 60,000 according to estimates," he explains.

For Momo, these incidents are not attributable to the organizers or the police officers. "What happened is the work of a gang that has nothing to do with music, and who did not come to listen to music, or to dance, but to steal, break, assault, create chaos... there were about thirty injured...," he details, condemning all forms of violence, including sexist and sexual violence. After the testimonies of alleged rapes, the festival organizers indicated in a statement released on Saturday that they had requested the opening of an investigation.