Moroccan Man Jailed for Illegal Marriage to Minor After Rape

Believing that he could circumvent the prohibition by opting for an informal marriage, called "orfi", "with Al Fatiha", a 24-year-old man found himself facing justice. He married a 17-year-old minor whom he had raped. She gave birth to a baby, the fruit of the rape. The young man will be prosecuted on provisional release for violating the laws relating to the Family Code, in particular Articles 20 and 21 which require the authorization of a judge. During the hearing at the Court of First Instance in Oujda, the husband, the minor, her mother and her aunt, affirmed that "the marriage took place in the presence of certain neighbors and was concluded only with La Fatiha, since the wife did not have an identity document," reports the daily Assabah.

In the eyes of the Court, the act of the accused is considered "sexual assault without violence", which earned him a sentence of one year in prison. The case is now before the Court of Appeal in Oujda.