NEW YORK, United States – Human Rights Watch and the Moroccan Human Rights Association called on the Moroccan government to protect the rights to privacy and a fair trial.  In November 2007, six men were arrested and later convicted under Article 489 of the penal code, which criminalizes “lewd or unnatural acts with an individual of the same sex.”

The men were arrested after a video of a private party, allegedly including the men, circulated on the internet.  Abdelaziz Nouaydi, a Rabat lawyer on the men’s defense team, said that the men were convicted after the prosecution showed no evidence of any Article 489 violation and only offered the video as evidence.  However, the video showed no indication of sexual activity.  The men were sentenced to imprisonment, ranging from three to ten months.  Article 489 provides a punishment of up to three years imprisonment.

HRW states that criminalizing consensual, adult homosexual conduct violates international law.  Morocco has ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which bar interference with the right to privacy.  Also, the United Nations Human Rights Committee stated that laws that criminalize consensual homosexual conduct violate the ICCPR.

For more information, please see:
Human Rights Watch – Morocco: Protect Rights to Privacy and Fair Trial – 26 February 2008

Human Rights Watch – Morocco: Overturn Verdicts for Homosexual Conduct – 12 December 20083