The suffering of dozens of Moroccans continues after they were kidnapped by armed groups based at the border between Myanmar and Thailand, as reported by local media outlets citing families and testimonies from the victims' friends in Morocco. According to a statement from the sister of one of the victims in an interview with the Moroccan newspaper "Assabah", the kidnapping was meticulously planned through social media, where her brother was convinced by strangers leading digital piracy networks to travel to Thailand for a job offer. He lost contact for months, only to learn later from a colleague held with him that they were trapped somewhere. She mentioned that she has audio recordings showing the victims enduring severe torture, including electric shocks and being hung for long hours.
The sister of the victim named Yousef stated that the family suspected their son’s location, which turned out to be in an area outside the control of Thai or Myanmar authorities. The detention site was sent to the family by one of the kidnapped Moroccans, which subsequently led to him facing further torture after the network discovered this. A testimony from the family of a young Moroccan who lost contact after traveling to Thailand for a job with an unknown e-marketing company indicated that they work under intense pressure, being forced to work up to 22 hours a day with only two hours of rest. Those who disobey orders or are found to have leaked information about conditions within the detention area are reportedly tortured, according to reports relayed by Moroccan news outlets.
The same reports indicate that a number of other young Moroccans escaped after arriving in Thailand and discovering the nature of the work they would be subjected to, prompting significant outrage in Morocco. Details continue to emerge through repeated testimonies shared by Moroccan influencers on their official social media accounts regarding those who managed to evade falling into the trap of the armed groups.
It is reported that the detained victims are being coerced under threat to recruit others to come, a process that takes place under duress to compensate the groups for the expenses of luring them through a direct journey from Morocco to Thailand and visa fees before reaching the detention site, according to matching testimonies, explaining it as the same method that led to their son's captivity.
