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The pair face up to three years in jail if found guilty of violating Morocco’s  ‘public modesty’ law.

Two gay Moroccan men are set to go on trial for violating “public modesty” after holding each other for a photo at a historic site in Rabat, Morocco.

If found guilty, the couple could face up to three years imprisonment. The Guardian reports that Mohsine, a 25-year-old from Marrakesh, in the west of the country, and Lahcen, 38, from Rabat, were touring and taking pictures near Hassan tower, the capital’s famous minaret, earlier in June when they were arrested by the police for supposedly standing too close to each other, activists said.

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Homosexuality is illegal in Morocco, as stated in article 489 of Morocco’s penal code and is punishable by six months to three years imprisonment.

There has been a recent crackdown on GLBT Moroccans recently. Last month, Morocco sentenced three gay people to three years in jail, the first time the authorities are known to have used the maximum sentence to punish homosexuals.

Article | Levi Joule.

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