Women protest lenient verdict for men accused of raping 11-year-old girl in Morocco.

On Wednesday, a group of women protested in Rabat against a verdict they deemed lenient for three men accused of repeatedly raping an 11-year-old girl. The case has caused outrage in Morocco, and a petition condemning the sentence had collected over 31,000 signatures by Wednesday. The defendants were convicted by the criminal chamber of the Rabat Court of Appeal on March 20 for “abduction of a minor” and “indecent assault on a minor with violence.” One of the defendants was sentenced to two years in prison, while the other two received 18-month sentences. The men were also ordered to pay damages totaling 50,000 dirhams (4,500 euros). They faced between 10 and 20 years in prison, according to the Moroccan penal code.

According to women’s rights NGOs in Morocco, the minor “suffered repeated rapes under threat,” which resulted in pregnancy. The case has caused a showdown between Justice Minister Abdellatif Ouahbi and the Moroccan Magistrates Club. Ouahbi was “shocked” by the ruling, saying it “questions all of us, as leaders and actors in civil society, on the necessary efforts that must be strengthened on the legislative, intellectual, educational, to protect our childhood from rape,” according to comments quoted by the media. The professional Association of Moroccan Magistrates considered the minister’s comments to be “a serious attack on the independence of the judiciary.” The appeal trial of the case is scheduled to open on Thursday in Rabat, but it is expected to be postponed at the request of the civil party’s lawyer.