A Moroccan court has sentenced three men to prison for "indecent assault" for the repeated rape of an 11-year-old girl in a case that sparked national indignation.
The Rabat appeals court sentenced one defendant to 20 years in prison and the other two to ten.
Lawyers for the girl, who is now 12, had appealed after a lower court sentenced one of her three alleged attackers to two years in prison, and the others to 18 months each.
All three could have faced up to 30 years behind bars.
A Moroccan court has dramatically increased the prison sentences of three men convicted of "indecent assault" for the repeated rape of an 11-year-old girl in a case that sparked public outcry.
The appeals court in Rabat sentenced one man to 20 years in prison early Friday and the other two to 10.
Lawyers for the girl, who is now 12, had appealed after a lower court sentenced one of her three alleged attackers to two years in prison, and the others to 18 months each.
All three could have faced up to 30 years behind bars.
The court had heard testimonies from the victim and a witness, also a minor, in private after the prosecution requested it, citing child protection concerns.
The public gallery was packed for Thursday's hearing, which ran on into the early hours of Friday.
The victim, looking frail and silent, was accompanied by her grandmother and father.
The defendants were charged with "misappropriation of a minor" and "indecent assault on a minor with violence" in the initial trial.
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