Moroccan teenagers arrested for kissing in public

Pictured: The public kiss that got two Moroccan teenagers arrested for being a 'danger to social order'

This is the photo of a romantic kiss which got a pair of Moroccan teenagers arrested for being a 'danger to social order'.

Police detained the couple, aged 14 and 15, for 'public indecency' after the image they posted on Facebook was picked up and printed by a local paper.
But the incident spawned a wide online protest against Morocco’s authoritarian Muslim regime under the hashtag #Nadorkiss.






The photo - blurred to protect the young couple's identify - was reposted on a twitter account for a Moroccan-based arm of Anonymous, a global group of of so-called hacktivists which claims to campaign for freedom from censorship. 

On their twitter account they mocked authorities for their clampdown, adding: 'THIS is the kiss..THIS is what the Gov feels is destroying the Nat'l order and social harmony of Morocco'.
A campaign is now spreading across social networks to defend the right of public displays of affection which is restricted in the conservative country.

Dozens of protesters staged a kiss-in to show their solidarity with the teenagers and posted pictures of their own kisses on twitter



Clash: A thug, left, tries to break up a 'kiss-in', organised by Moroccan activists in protest at the arrest and trial of three teenagers for 'violating public decency'

One twitter user posted: '#NadorKiss is not just about the three kids who are facing jail, it is about the right to freedom online in repressive societies.'
Another wrote: 'Does a simple kiss really impose a threat to the National order and social harmony to the extent of arresting the kids involved? #NadorKiss'
The couple, as well as the boy who took the photo outside their school in the town of Nador, were arrested after a local newspaper printed the image.
The three youngsters are all due in court today for a closed hearing, followed by a sentencing next week, according the Agence France-Presse.
They are currently being held at a juvenile detention centre for violating public decency.


Protest: Dozens of couples staged a kiss-in to protest against the authoritarian Moroccan regime's clampdown on public displays of affection
A sit-in has begun outside the centre to demand their release.
Human Rights organisations said the incident has provoked scores of 'copycat' posts - with the BBC reporting a campaign to post a million copycat photos has been launched in protest.
Chakib al-Khayari, president of the Rif Association of Human Rights said: '[the incident] involves a teenage boy and his girlfriend.
'They were arrested on Thursday for violating public decency by posting a photo of them kissing.'
A local official has confirmed the arrests, but declined to comment.