Teen Sets Herself On Fire After Rapists Freed From Jail
A Moroccan teen took her own life after eight men accused of gang raping her were released on bail and allegedly blackmailed her over a video of the disturbing incident.
The 17-year-old reportedly doused herself in a flammable liquid and set herself on fire in the street in the city of Ben Guerir. She was rushed to a nearby hospital, where she later died of the burns.
The alleged rape took place in late 2015 in a village between Marrakech and Ben Guerir, Daily Mail reports. According to Omar Arbib, a member of a human rights association in Marrakech, the group of men had threatened to publicly release a graphic video of the incident.
Arbib says he had been informed that "influential people" may have played a role in the decision to release the men on bail.
Seven of the accused men were confirmed by authorities to be well-known drug traffickers and were arrested shortly after the alleged assault on the teen. The eighth man was caught and arrested two months later when he was reportedly caught abusing a young boy.
In 2012, 16-year-old Amina Filali killed herself in Larache, Morocco, after she was forced to marry her rapist. The rapist avoided prosecution by marrying his victim under a highly controversial law. Following a campaign by human rights groups, the law was repealed in 2014.
Sources: Daily Mail, Mad World News / Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons
