A group violently throws an LGBT person to the ground and violently attacks them as a crowd is heard cheering them on.Â
A shocking video showing an LGBT person being shoved to the ground and brutally beaten has recently surfaced online. The victim wore a white dress while attacked by a mob in the streets of the city of Fez, in Morocco. In the video, numerous people can be seen cheering on the attackers – and no one trying to help.
Logo’s NewNowNext’s Matthew Tharrett notes this should remind us “of the dire situation LGBTs abroad are facing each and every day.”
Moroccan media have reported the victim as a gay man but the person’s clothes and hairstyle have led others to believe the person is actually a transgender woman.
The victim is seen running from the attackers, and almost makes it to the safety of a car, but is quickly dragged away and aggressively shoved to the ground. The perpetrators continue to punch, kick, and stomp on the person until the victim can finally get up and run to a nearby police officer.
The video, uploaded to YouTube just three days ago, has been viewed nearly 90,000, and reported on by several international news agencies, including AFP.
According to Times Live, two suspects have been arrested and the police are still searching for other suspects. The video of the recent attack can be found below, but we must warn you, it’s violent and disturbing:
Homosexual activity is illegal in Morocco and violators can be punished with up to three years of jail time. Just last month, two men Lahcen, 38, and Mohsine, 25, were arrested for kissing in public during a protest. They were convicted of an “affront to public decency” and of an “unnatural act with a person of the same sex.” The men were sentenced to four months of jail time.
Late last year a massive uproar occurred in the UK when the Moroccan government imprisoned a British tourist for “homosexual acts.” As if that weren’t enough, last month, the weekly magazine, Maroc Hebdo, was forced to withdraw its latest edition that featured two young men gazing into each other’s eyes while at a swimming pool. The headline asked, “Should we burn gays?”
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Image via Wikimedia