Morocco: Rappers Get Lighter Prison Sentences

The Fez Court of Appeal has reduced to four months in prison the sentence of the two rappers who wrote the controversial song “Sher Zidi Kobi Atay”, sentenced in the first instance to two years in prison each for incitement to prostitution and debauchery.

The Fez Court of Appeal reassessed the charges against the rappers and decided to reduce their sentence to four months in prison. The two rappers, accused of “inciting minors under the age of 18 to prostitution or debauchery, inciting the commission of a crime or offense by electronic means meeting the condition of publicity, and participating in such acts,” had been sentenced on April 29 by the Fez Court of First Instance to two years in prison and a fine of 500,000 dirhams each. The judge had also ordered the controversial song to be removed from YouTube.