Boy, 13, 'drugged and raped' by fourteen men in a tent

By Max Parry, News Reporter, Maria Ortega, Foreign Content Specialist

Morocco police station in El Jadida (Image: Getty)

A teenage boy was the victim of a vicious gang rape during the annual Moulay Abdellah Amghar festival in El Jadida province on the Atlantic ocean earlier this month.

The 13-year-old attended the festival accompanied by a group of young men from Youssoufia, Sifi Benour, and Sifi Ahmed. During the event, some of these men repeatedly drugged and sexually abused him, according to reports.

Festival Moulay Abdellah Amghar in 2023 (Image: Getty)

When the boy regained consciousness, he learned that 14 men had assaulted him in a tent over the course of several days. After returning to his hometown of Youssoufia, the boy, who does not have a father and whose mother is disabled, reportedly revealed the abuse to his neighbours.

The neighbours immediately reported the case to the police and took him to the provincial hospital in Youssoufia. He was then transferred to the Mohammed VI University Hospital in Marrakesh for specialised treatment.

The ghastly case has sparked outrage in Morocco, with the Moroccan Association for Human Rights (AMDH) demanding the Attorney General in Rabat open an urgent investigation.

The festival sees horses ridden in the sea (Image: Getty)

In a letter signed by Mohamed Yassir, head of AMDH’s local committee in Youssoufia, the association called for sexual assault against children to be considered a serious human rights violation and a crime under Moroccan law. 

The group added that Morocco has obligations under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, urging the government to ensure full protection for minors from exploitation and violence.

In the wake of the horrific incident, Moroccans took to social media to express their outrage, questioning how such a tragedy could take place in the middle of a major annual cultural festival attended by thousands of people.