The Moulay Abdellah Amghar festival in El Jadida was overshadowed by a tragic incident in which a 13-year-old boy was assaulted by a group of young men who allegedly drugged him before committing their crime. The young victim is now suffering from serious physical and psychological complications, while an investigation is underway to identify and apprehend the perpetrators. Over the weekend, a harrowing case of gang rape involving a 13-year-old boy came to light during the Moulay Abdellah Amghar festival in El Jadida. The horrific act was committed by a group of young men. The tragic events unfolded on Thursday, August 14, when the victim, originating from Youssoufia, was assaulted by ten individuals he could identify. They drugged him and took turns raping him inside a tent, exploiting the festive atmosphere in El Jadida last week. This information was relayed to Yabiladi by Hamid El-Roudi, the coordinator of the local committee of the Moroccan Association for Human Rights in Gantour-Youssoufia, which has stepped in to support the child. According to the human rights advocate, based on the victim's account, the boy is in a «critical and dire state, unable even to sit». The child is fatherless, and his mother suffers from psychological disorders. After the incident, he managed to reach Youssoufia alone by bus. «He had gone to attend the festival in El Jadida. After the incident, he took a bus back home in a deplorable state, prompting his mother to contact the neighbors, who then reached out to us. When we arrived at the hospital where he was taken, the scene was heart-wrenching», El-Roudi shared. The public prosecutor at the Safi Court of First Instance ordered a forensic examination of the victim, sending him on Friday, August 15, to Mohammed V Hospital in Safi. The medical report confirmed he had been subjected to gang rape and urgently needed psychological support. On Saturday, August 16, he was again referred to the same hospital, then moved to the emergency department due to his inability to move, before being transferred to a hospital in Marrakech due to the severity of his condition. The child is currently at the Royal Gendarmerie headquarters in El Jadida with his mother, continuing the investigation and undergoing examination by a specialist doctor for medical expertise, as well as a psychologist due to his deteriorating mental state. The human rights activist noted that the victim was engaged in freelance work, such as selling plastic in markets and guarding cars. The association has urged security authorities to act swiftly and exhaust all legal avenues to ensure the perpetrators face justice, warning that «any negligence or delay in handling the case would betray the child victim, his family, and society as a whole». The case has sparked outrage and widespread debate on social media, where many activists have highlighted the lack of security measures at the festival, demanding accountability from all those responsible for the incident.
