Moroccan Court Jails Alleged Child Rapist After Public Outcry

Dozens of NGOs demonstrated on Wednesday in Foum Lahcen near Tata (south), against the release on bail of the alleged rapist. Gathered for the second consecutive day in this city located at the gates of the desert, not far from the village where the events took place, the protesters chanted slogans like: "We refuse rape", "Death rather than humiliation". They also carried placards on which we could read among others: "Let’s unite for the dignity of Ikram", report local media.

The alleged rapist, a father of 5 children, is a neighbor of the victim’s family. Arrested at the end of May, a few days after the alleged facts of which he is accused, he was released on bail after the withdrawal of the complaint by the victim’s father.

"The public prosecutor had decided to keep him in detention, but the investigating judge released him, the complaint against him having been withdrawn and the result of the medical examination having proved negative," we are told from a judicial source.

Some 208,000 people have signed the petition launched on the internet to demand "justice" for Ikram, and addressed to the court in Agadir in charge of the case.

On Wednesday, justice ordered the return to pre-trial detention of the suspect, shortly after the new demonstration in Tata. Information that the NGO "Don’t touch my child" received "with satisfaction".

Pending the trial date, the investigation is ongoing. Moroccan NGOs, for their part, are urging the authorities in particular to toughen legislation and strengthen the fight against sexual predators.