The Rabat Court of Appeal on Thursday-Friday increased prison sentences for three defendants in the case of rape of a child, according to an AFP journalist, a case that had shocked Morocco and abroad due to a reduced sentence in the first instance.

The court increased the sentence of the main accused from two years to 20 years in prison, while increasing the sentence of other defendants from 18 months to 10 years in prison.

One of the defense attorneys for the victim, Sanaa, 12, Abdel-Fattah Zahrash, told the press, "We are satisfied with this verdict, which did justice to the victim, but we did not understand why only the other defendants were sentenced to 10 years in prison."

He explained that the victim's defense "will appeal the ruling to the Court of Cassation after consulting with the victim's family."

Earlier Thursday, the court heard this child in a closed session, during which she confirmed that she had been subjected to repeated rape, resulting in a newborn, according to her lawyer, Muhammad al-Sabar.

The incidents go back to last year when she was no more than 11 years old in a rural area near the city of Tiflet, on the outskirts of the capital.
After her family filed a complaint, on March 20, three adults were convicted of "deceiving a minor" and "violently defiling a minor."
However, the initial penalty did not exceed two years in prison for one of them and 18 months for the others.

The ruling, which was revealed by women's rights activists, sparked widespread discontent in the Kingdom, as it was greatly lenient. It has brought to the forefront demands for a review of legislation and tougher penalties in cases of sexual assaults on minors and women in general.

Before the start of the court session, around noon on Thursday, the victim appeared in the courtroom, accompanied by her father and grandmother.

She appeared silent and her body was slender, "as she still did not comprehend all the horror of the shock that occurred, although she relatively recovered her smile," according to Amina Khaled, the official in the "Insaf" association, who has supported her since she learned of the case.

Earlier Thursday, the three defendants denied before the Court of Appeal all the crimes they were convicted of committing before the Court of First Instance.
They stood before the court with their heads bowed before the judge interrogated them.

The latter confronted the main suspect with the results of the DNA analysis of the child prepared by Sanaa, stressing that these results “proved 99 percent” that he is the father of the child.

However, the accused kept contenting himself with the answer, "I don't know," despite the judge's insistence that he be given a "logical answer."

More than 20 lawyers and human rights activists attended to support the victim in this case, which aroused media interest and wide sympathy for the victim.

In their pleadings, the lawyers for the civil party renewed their request to uphold the conviction of the defendants, but with increasing the penalties "to the maximum."

Her defense attorney, Muhammad al-Sabar, said, "We do not need to discuss the facts. We are with the first instance ruling in terms of the principle of conviction (...) and the court has wide consideration."

Before adding, "However, this ruling may lead many victims to question the feasibility of resorting to justice (...) It sows despair and makes the victims lose any hope. It punished the victim instead of the perpetrators."

For his part, the defense of the three defendants requested "innocence due to the contradictory statements of the victim."

When the session resumed at night, the representative of the Public Prosecution requested "the imposition of the maximum penalties against them."

He added, "If the text helped me, I would have sought the death penalty" against the defendants, "who are guilty before God and before society (...) I ask for mercy for a child whose childhood was violated."

In the closed session during this lengthy trial, the court also heard a 15-year-old minor girl as a witness against one of the defendants. Despite her retraction of her testimony, according to lawyers, the court was convinced of their conviction and imposed severe penalties against them.

In addition, the court increased the compensation due to the victim from about $5,000 to about $14,000.
However, her defense also requested that "the Ministry of Family, Women and Solidarity take care of her financially until she reaches the age of majority."

In addition to medical and social care, the victim was able to go to school "for the first time" with the help of the "Insaf" association, according to Amina Khaled, who is responsible for it.

Human rights activists supporting the victim expressed their hope that the debate sparked by this case would lead to a review of legislation, in order to enhance the protection of victims and ensure that there is no impunity.

Moroccan human rights organizations have previously criticized, in separate cases over the past years, sentences that were considered lenient against those accused of sexually assaulting minors.