BENI MELLAL: Family members of a dozen young men suspected in the gang-rape, forcible tattooing and torture of a 17-year-old Moroccan girl allegedly held captive for two months have made a raucous noise outside the courtroom where an investigative judge held his first hearing in the case.
The girl, identified only as Khadija and dressed in black, with black gloves covering hand tattoos, sat quietly before being summoned on Thursday into the first hearing in the case, behind closed doors.
Twelve suspects were detained after Khadija was freed in mid-August. The case sparked a public outcry in a nation where violence against women is widespread but largely ignored.
About 20 family members of the suspects, some holding pictures of King Mohammed VI, harassed Khadija’s lawyer. The sister of one suspect collapsed outside the courthouse.
Moroccan judge holds first hearing in case of captive girl
Moroccan judge holds first hearing in case of captive girl
- A 17-year-old Moroccan girl was allegedly held captive, forcibly tattooed, tortured and gang-raped
- The case sparked a public outcry in a nation where violence against women is widespread but largely ignored
Armed clashes erupt in Aleppo between Syrian army and Kurdish-led SDF
- One member of Internal Security Forces, another from army were injured
- Defense Ministry accused SDF of targeting homes after they suddenly withdrew from jointly operated checkpoints, fired at government forces
LONDON: The Syrian Ministry of Defense accused the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces of launching a surprise attack on the Internal Security Forces and the Syrian Arab Army in Aleppo on Monday.
The clashes erupted in the densely populated neighborhoods of Ashrafiya and Sheikh Maqsoud, which have a Kurdish majority. The ministry reported that one member of the Internal Security Forces and another from the army were injured, along with several civil defense personnel and civilians.
The ministry denied the claims that the army initiated the conflict. It accused the SDF of targeting homes after they suddenly withdrew from jointly operated checkpoints and fired at government forces with heavy machine guns, rocket-propelled grenade shells, and mortars.
Four civilians, including a woman and a child, were admitted to Al-Razi Hospital in the city, and two Syrian Civil Defense personnel were injured while on duty at the Shihan roundabout, according to the Syrian Arab News Agency.
Fighting has spread to areas between the Shihan and Al-Larmon roundabouts, north of Aleppo, prompting dozens of families to flee their homes toward safer locations in Khalidiya and Nile Street, and closing the main Gaziantep-Aleppo highway. The civil defense accused SDF forces of shooting at one of their vehicles, which carried four members.
Azzam Al-Gharib, the governor of Aleppo, urged citizens to avoid approaching the clash sites or roads leading to the city center until further notice.
Developing story...
