Morocco Launches Investigation into Data Leak Targeting LGBT Community

In a statement to the AFP, the DGSN spokesperson indicated that "the publication by an individual of digital content" bearing "harm to automated data processing systems" has led to the opening of this investigation. He will specify that the police are willing to "record and process all complaints filed by the plaintiffs, in accordance with the legislation in force".

Last Sunday, a collective bringing together about twenty human rights defense associations demonstrated against a "campaign of defamation" and "intimidation" with disastrous consequences exacerbated by this confinement context.

Sofia Taloni, a Moroccan transsexual living in Turkey, is behind this "witch hunt". She runs an Instagram account that has posted a series of videos revealing the sexual identity of dozens of people without their consent. Similarly, she has disseminated photographs and addresses or telephone numbers of these people, recovered from various dating apps like Grindr or PlanetRomeo.

In Morocco, the law criminalizes homosexuality through Article 489 of the Penal Code, which provides for a prison sentence of six months to three years. In 2018, 170 people were prosecuted for homosexuality, according to official figures.