LGBT Person Brutally Beaten By Moroccan Street Mob As Bystanders Excitedly Film
Disturbing video out of Morocco showing a mob of angry people brutally beating what appears to be an LGBT person in public has surfaced, reminding 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. For the sake of preserving the victim's sexual and gender identity we will refer to them with gender-neutral pronouns.
The three-minute video below was shot in the city of Fez and shows the victim, dressed in a white dress, repeatedly thrown to the ground and kicked by a mob of at least 10 people while trying to escape.
Onlookers can be seen casually watching the barbaric assault as the person tries to escape into a cab and later, into the arms of a police officer. At one point, the person is on the ground shielding their head from a barrage of forceful kicks.
Homosexuality and homosexual acts are illegal and punishable by up to three years in jail in the highly conservative country, but the person was apparently shielded and protected by the police officer whom they eventually found.
According to African news source Times Live, two suspects were arrested in connection with the attack while police continue to conduct a thorough investigation.
The horrifying video comes on the heels of Morocco's decision to arrest 20 people accused of homosexuality in June, and just two months after a Moroccan court sentenced three men to three years in jail for arranging an online hookup.
Watch part of the terrifying assault below:
