Moroccan Teacher and Lover Jailed for Adultery in Controversial Case

The facts occurred last month. Residents of the Al Askar douar, under the commune of Ijoukak, caught the teacher’s lover entering her official residence at late hours. Alerted, they surrounded the house and contacted the Royal Gendarmerie. The security forces, arriving on the spot, caught the two individuals in flagrante delicto of adultery.

In Morocco, adultery is punishable by a prison sentence of one month to one year (articles 490 and 491 of the Penal Code). However, in practice, these provisions are only applied in rare cases or as an aggravating circumstance in other offenses.

A reform of the Family Code (Moudawana), the conclusions of which were submitted to King Mohammed VI a few weeks ago, should lead to the definitive repeal of these prison sentences.