Outrage in Morocco as Child Murders Spark Calls for Government Action

Adnane Bouchouf and Naima Arouhi, two Moroccan children were 10 and 5 years old respectively when they met the tragic end of their short lives. Everywhere in the Kingdom, it is horror and outrage. The most recent case to date is the death sentence of a couple accused of voluntary manslaughter with a knife and mutilation of the body of little Mohamed Ali, barely 7 years old.

Several Internet users and associations, including "Don’t touch my child" by Najat Anwar, cry out in scandal and are outraged by the impassivity and immobility of the government.

Five years ago, UNICEF had already sounded the alarm, even though the drafting of a code had been proposed since 2003. The long-awaited code that will counter the scourge of attacks, rapes and murders targeting children in the country.

The National Observatory for Children’s Rights (ONDE) announced the mobilization of nearly one million dirhams for this purpose, through civil society organizations at the national and local levels. The NGOs concerned are taking advantage of the new dynamics of the observatory led by Lalla Meryem, the king’s sister, to demand emergency action from the government to save the children.