Moroccan police have arrested 12 people over the alleged gang rape and torture of a 17-year-old girl after her sordid saga sparked a massive outrage. The arrests came just hours after an online petition sought help from the Moroccan king.
In a shocking video which was posted online last week, the girl showed her arms, legs and neck covered with crude tattoos and cigarette burns.
The victim while recalling her ordeal said, she was abducted outside her relative's home in central Morocco in Mid-June by a dozen of young men.
"They held me for about two months, and raped and tortured me," she said.
"I will never forgive them.They have destroyed me," she said.
August 23, 2017: Moroccans protest against sexual harassment following the sexual assault of a woman on a bus in Casablanca. /VCG Photo
All the suspects, aged between 18 and 27, are being investigated by a judge in the city of Beni Mellal, said a Moroccan court official.
Social media was buzzing with online action as many launched an online campaign against the gruesome crime. Over 3,400 citizens signed a petition urging King Mohammed VI to provide the girl with medical and psychological care.
In conservative Morocco, rape victims are often subjected to social isolation, even blamed for their ordeal.
Sexual harassment, violence and abuse of women are rife in Morocco. In 2017, there were 1,600 cases of rape heard by Moroccan courts, twice as many as previous years.
The state has worked to curb the violence.
In February, Morocco ratified a new law criminalizing forms of domestic violence and establishing protection for victims of sexual assault.