M'dina Bus: "Without sharing this video, we probably would not have known about this case" (MAINTENANCE)

Rape video: https://youtu.be/90RdxXrbNbE

SCANDALE - Sad chance of the calendar, it is a sordid affair that bursts this Monday August 21, day of the festival of the youth. A widely shared video on the web and social networks, which we have chosen not to relay, reveals an aggression that scandalizes Moroccans, to the point where a sit-in solidarity with the victim, and denounce the harassment Sexual in the public space, is about to be organized this Wednesday 23 August afternoon in Casablanca, on the Place Maréchal.

In the video posted on the night of August 20-21, a girl is seen during the day, sexually assaulted on a bus, assaulted by hilarious teenagers when denuding it, to make her Touching and preventing him from screaming. Six minors have been arrested, according to a statement from the DGSN, for their alleged involvement in "an indecent assault committed with violence against a girl suffering from mental disorders, the recording of these acts on video and its broadcast on the Internet" .

While the investigation is proceeding, some elements provide further details as to the circumstances in which the video was shot. The scene went well in Casablanca, on a bus from the company M'dina Bus. The company today issued a statement indicating that the incident took place on 18 August, while the DGSN refers to a "indecent assault" dating from 3 months ago. Director of Human Capital and spokesman for M'dina Bus, Youssef El Ouedghiri Idrissi answers questions from HuffPost Morocco.

HuffPost Morocco: According to the statement issued today by M'dina Bus, the first elements of the investigation indicate that the attack would have occurred on Friday 18 August. Can you tell us the chronology of the actions undertaken by M'dina Bus from that date until today, August 21?

Youssef El Ouedghiri Idrissi: The company did not know the facts until the morning of 21 August. It was only through collaboration with national security, which arrested the delinquents this morning, that we could have the precision of the date of the events. A Crisis Staff was created this morning, in collaboration with national security, to investigate the exact facts and determine the responsibilities of each.

You mention in your release of surveillance cameras on board buses. Are all buses equipped?

Yes, without exception since 2013. Each bus has 4 cameras: there is 1 special driver's camera placed above his head, and 3 other cameras covering the entire perimeter of the bus.

SCANDALE - Sad chance of the calendar, it is a sordid affair that bursts this Monday August 21, day of the festival of the youth. A widely shared video on the web and social networks, which we have chosen not to relay, reveals an aggression that scandalizes Moroccans, to the point where a sit-in solidarity with the victim, and denounce the harassment Sexual in the public space, is about to be organized this Wednesday 23 August afternoon in Casablanca, on the Place Maréchal.

In the video posted on the night of August 20-21, a girl is seen during the day, sexually assaulted on a bus, assaulted by hilarious teenagers when denuding it, to make her Touching and preventing him from screaming. Six minors have been arrested, according to a statement from the DGSN, for their alleged involvement in "an indecent assault committed with violence against a girl suffering from mental disorders, the recording of these acts on video and its broadcast on the Internet" .

While the investigation is proceeding, some elements provide further details as to the circumstances in which the video was shot. The scene went well in Casablanca, on a bus from the company M'dina Bus. The company today issued a statement indicating that the incident took place on 18 August, while the DGSN refers to a "indecent assault" dating from 3 months ago. Director of Human Capital and spokesman for M'dina Bus, Youssef El Ouedghiri Idrissi answers questions from HuffPost Morocco.

HuffPost Morocco: According to the statement issued today by M'dina Bus, the first elements of the investigation indicate that the attack would have occurred on Friday 18 August. Can you tell us the chronology of the actions undertaken by M'dina Bus from that date until today, August 21?

Youssef El Ouedghiri Idrissi: The company did not know the facts until the morning of 21 August. It was only through collaboration with national security, which arrested the delinquents this morning, that we could have the precision of the date of the events. A Crisis Staff was created this morning, in collaboration with national security, to investigate the exact facts and determine the responsibilities of each.

You mention in your release of surveillance cameras on board buses. Are all buses equipped?

Yes, without exception since 2013. Each bus has 4 cameras: there is 1 special driver's camera placed above his head, and 3 other cameras covering the entire perimeter of the bus.

M'dina Bus's statement refers to facts dated 18 August. The DGSN, for its part, indicates that these facts go back to 3 months. What is it?

According to the first elements of the survey, received from the DGSN, we were asked for the recordings of Friday, August 18th. We are not yet sure of the date on which the events occurred. Only by observing the records, which are still being extracted, will we be able to decide. But apparently, after the arrest of the offenders, the DGSN ensured that the facts go back to a few months ago.

If the facts were indeed produced a few months ago, M'dina Bus still has the possibility to extract the recordings made on board its buses?

Unfortunately no. We can extract them within a 3 month limit. If the events took place beyond three months, we can not do anything about it.

If the video that is currently scandalous had not been shot and had not been shared, causing the outcry that we know, would you have known this sordid affair, despite the presence on board surveillance cameras?

Probably not. Probably not because we have an average of 750 buses on average that work 16h a day. The surveillance cameras are there to record all of these 16h, but we do not have the possibility to permanently view the 16h of recording. We can view videos at random, but also and especially if the driver retrieves the information in real time, because we have the possibility to connect in real time to the cameras. On the other hand, if you analyze the shared video well, the duration is very limited, not even a minute. At first, the girl did not scream alarmingly. A driver may not necessarily notice that there is a problem, noise on a bus that is part of everyday life.

I would like to clarify, and I am speaking with full knowledge of the fact that I have already taken the wheel of the bus under real conditions, that it is quite possible that the driver did not pay any attention to the facts. I invite you to take a bus of any kind, but especially see what happens on the lines that lead to the beach, especially these days. The quarrels are the lot of practically every trip. The driver will not necessarily pay attention because it is concentrated on the road. The duration of the act is 40 or 50 seconds. There really must be something urgent for him to be careful. If we can determine the bus in question, and we can extract the recordings, we can see what happened before and after the video shared on the social networks. It will then be possible to determine whether or not the driver has become aware of the facts. If so, he will be held responsible. The analysis of the video will define the responsibilities of each.

There has been much talk in the comments on social networks about the responsibility of the driver who, as the video shows, continued to drive the bus at the time of the incident. But is not there a controller on every bus?

No, there is only one driver per bus. We have more than 700 controllers, but they are distributed by teams of 3 to 4 people, which operate randomly throughout the network, ie 70 lines over 1,250 km. It is certain that no controller was on board the bus where the video was shot. If controllers were present, they would not have let it happen.

Do you have any recollection of similar facts that had previously occurred on board your company's buses?

As shocking, I do not think so. But acts of stabbing, vandalism, etc., are part of everyday life. This week, one of our drivers was assaulted and injured, not seriously but seriously enough, in a knife attack. The aggressor was a minor offender, who assaulted the entire bus, with many passengers who did not dare to react, before attacking the bus driver and getting off. Of course, with the collaboration of national security, we can arrest offenders, but we need a preventive approach, with a national security team dedicated to transport as it exists on an international scale, or To a lesser extent in Morocco, but only for the tramway, where each train has a component of national safety since its start in 2012.

Drivers are probably afraid of intervening. Are they equipped or trained to intervene in such cases?

They are necessarily afraid, it is human, but they do not hesitate to intervene, it is their duty as far as possible. In case of assault, there is an emergency button on the radio, drivers do not even have to call in order not to expose themselves. But in the absence of collaboration with a national security team dedicated to transport, it remains very difficult to manage such situations. In legal terms, for example, M'dina Bus personnel, whether they are controllers or drivers, do not have the legal authority to deal with these offenders. We do not have the right to arrest an offender carrying a knife or a drug user. So we need an element of national security.

In these circumstances, if you are able to determine the identity of the bus driver where the sexual assault occurred, will it be sanctioned despite the absence on the bus of a component of national security , As you recommend?

It will be so if one finds that he has taken cognizance of the facts, and that he has not at least denounced this a posteriori. It is an obligation, the bare minimum. If the video indicates that he has not paid attention, his responsibility will not be engaged.