French Comedian Faces Trial in Morocco Over Controversial Social Media Video

A French comedian, in pre-trial detention for a week, will be tried on Wednesday in Morocco for having disseminated what was deemed an insulting video on social networks, a lawyer close to the case told AFP. Brahim Bouhlel and the Franco-Moroccan snapchatter Zbarbooking are being prosecuted for "dissemination of a video of a person without their consent" and "corruption of a minor" - offenses punishable by up to five years in prison under the Moroccan Penal Code, according to the president of the Moroccan Bar Association, Mourad Elajouti. The latter had reported the video to the public prosecutor’s office.

The incriminating video was filmed in a restaurant in Marrakech where the Franco-Algerian actors Brahim Bouhlel and Hedi Bouchenafa, and the Franco-Moroccan snapchatter Zbarbooking were in the company of three Moroccan minors. Brahim, in voiceover, made insulting and degrading remarks about Moroccan women and children in the kingdom. This video sparked a wave of outrage and heated controversy. To put an end to it, the three celebrities apologized profusely before explaining that it was a "parodic" video. Too late. "The remarks made in the video shocked everyone and cannot be qualified as humorous parody," commented Mourad Elajouti.

Subsequently, the Franco-Algerian actor Brahim Bouhlel and the Franco-Moroccan snapchatter Zbarbooking were detained for their involvement in the sexist video case. The third protagonist, the Franco-Algerian actor Hedi Benchenafa, had time to return to France before the legal troubles began. According to the president of the Moroccan Bar Association, an international arrest warrant will be issued against him.