17-year-old girl sets herself on fire after being raped by eight men.

A Moroccan teenager set herself on fire after eight men who raped her were released on bail and threatened to post a compromising video of her online.

On August 4th, the Daily Mail (UK) reported that a 17-year-old girl poured a flammable substance over herself and then set herself on fire. The scene of the self-immolation was on a street in Ben Guerir, Morocco.

Some bystanders took the victim to the hospital, but due to severe burns, the girl did not survive.

Omar Arbib, a member of a human rights organization based in the nearby city of Marrakech, told local media that the eight men who gang-raped the teenage girl threatened to release a video of the humiliating act online.

The rape occurred late last year in a village between the cities of Ben Geurir and Marrakech. Photo: Alamy

The rapes occurred late last year in a village between the cities of Ben Geurir and Marrakech. Seven of the suspects – notorious drug traffickers – were quickly arrested. The remaining suspect was apprehended after abusing a boy two months later.

The 17-year-old girl decided to set herself on fire on August 2nd after learning that the suspects had been released on bail and were planning to publish a disturbing video.

Previously, in 2012, 16-year-old Amina Filali from Larache, Morocco, also committed suicide after being forced to marry her rapist. According to a controversial law that was repealed in 2014, rapists were allowed to marry their victims to avoid conviction.

Filali's father, Lahcen, said his daughter only confessed to being raped two months after the abuse. Prosecutors even advised her to marry the perpetrator.

Meanwhile, on August 4, Amnesty International (AI) condemned Iran's hanging of a minor accused of raping a boy in December 2014. Hassan Afshar was only 17 years old at the time. Afshar was accused, along with two other young men, of forcing a child to have sexual relations.

Afshar was hanged on July 19th at Arak prison in Markazi province. AI reported that Iranian judicial officials assured Afshar's family that his case would be reviewed next month, but the execution was carried out anyway. Afshar was also not informed of the death sentence before his death.

A few days after Afshar's hanging, Iranian authorities postponed another execution for Alireza Tajiki, who was under 18 at the time of the charges.

International law, including the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, prohibits the death penalty for defendants under the age of 18.

According to VOV