Mohammed and Jalal, two Moroccan nationals, were sentenced to five-year imprisonment each, with one-third of the sentence suspended, for raping a young man at gunpoint while he had been enjoying a night out with friends in the square in Liège.
Contrary to the wishes of the public prosecutor’s office, the court dismissed the charges of kidnapping, homophobia, and racism. According to the public prosecutor’s office, the criminal acts could have been qualified as such because the suspects held the victim in the toilet and made him scream “Vive le Maroc,” which translates to “Long live Morocco,” in English.
On Nov. 25, 2023, at around 4:00 a.m., while on patrol in the square in Liège, police were stopped by a young man at rue du Pot d’Or, who told them he had been raped. He explained that he had gone to a café with friends to celebrate one of their birthdays, and as soon as they arrived, two men followed them into the toilets.
Mohammed tapped the young man on the shoulder and mimed the gesture of snorting drugs. The two girls declined what appeared to be an offer to consume narcotics, while the complainant was unaware of the meaning of the mimed gesture. Mohammed then said, ”No, it’s not what you think,” winking at the young man.
When the two girls entered the toilet to go to the women’s bathroom, Mohammed grabbed the young man by the hood of his sweatshirt, placing his hand over his mouth to prevent him from shouting out, and led him into the men’s toilet. One of the protagonists pulled out a firearm at that point. A knife was also displayed.
The two convicted migrants then forced the young man to perform oral sex on each of them, hitting him, insulting him, and forcing him to shout “Vive le Maroc.” The two men filmed this act with their phones.
The two suspects were quickly arrested by police.
One of them stated that it was the young victim who had actually sexually assaulted them. However, the court rejected this claim, as the video recovered by police proved the victim’s version of events.
