Moroccan police have arrested a teenage boy and girl for posting a photo on Facebook of them kissing, with the incident provoking a slew of copycats, a rights organisation has said.
“It involves a teenage boy and his girlfriend. They were arrested on Thursday for violating public decency by posting a photo of them kissing on a social networking site” in the north-eastern town of Nador, said Chakib al-Khayari, president of the Rif Association of Human Rights, on Saturday.
The photograph of the young lovebirds was taken outside the high school where the two are students. The young couple are being held in the juvenile detention centre in Nador, where a sit-in has begun to demand their release, Khayari said. The incident has caused such a stir among young people that a number of other couples have posted similar photos on their Facebook pages.
A local official contacted by AFP confirmed the arrests, but declined to comment any further on the incident. Khayari said the pair are to appear before a juvenile court judge next Friday.