Man jailed for 'gay acts' in Morocco is released

Ray Cole from Deal in Kent talks about his ordeal after being jailed in Morocco for being gay.

British holidaymaker Ray Cole, who was jailed in Morocco for being gay, has described the prison he was kept in as a "concentration camp".

The 69-year-old, from Deal in Kent, was imprisoned for four months after homosexual images were found on his password-protected phone.

After being reunited with his family at Gatwick Airport, he described the conditions he had been living in.

Mr Cole was freed after his family's legal team in Marrakesh lodged an appeal.

He said his release came as a surprise and he had thought he was being transferred to a different prison.

Ray Cole, who was released from prison in Morocco yesterday, has described the conditions in jail as 'indescribable'.

Mr Cole, from Kent, was jailed for 'homosexual acts' but was reunited with his family at Gatwick Airport this morning. He appeared with his family on ITV's This Morning:

The son of Ray Cole, the pensioner who was freed today after being held in a Moroccan jail for 'gay acts', has spoken of his relief at the release of his father.

Adrian Cole, 41, said: "I feel like I am going to be sick - I can't quite believe what we have been able to achieve."

He added: "We would like to express our gratitude as a family to the thousands of people who have offered us their support and kindness.

"I would also like to offer my thanks to the Moroccan authorities. I am told my father left prison in good spirits and with all the possessions he went in there with."

A man from Deal who was jailed for 'gay acts' has been released pending an appeal, scheduled for tomorrow.

A man from Kent has been "blown away" by the level of international support he has received since being jailed in Morocco for being gay, his son said.

Ray Cole, 69, was imprisoned for four months with his Moroccan friend Jamal Jam Wald Nass after homosexual images were found on his password-protected phone.

As the pair languish in a crowded, barbed-wire topped Marrakesh jail, Mr Cole's son, Adrian Cole, 41, spoke of his concern for his father and his hope that they will be freed on appeal.

Mr Cole, from Windsor, Berkshire, said: "My father spoke to my mother and he was blown away when told of the level of interest and care and concern about him. He became quite tearful."

The case has generated huge interest on social media from supporters hoping to persuade the Moroccan authorities to free retired Mr Cole, from Deal.

As well as a petition, a #freeraycole hashtag has been circulating on Twitter and a Facebook page has also been set up calling for the release of Mr Cole, who has a minor heart condition.

He struck up a friendship with Mr Nass, aged in his 20s, on Facebook. It was on Mr Cole's second visit to Morocco to see him that they were detained at a bus stop by officers.

Mr Cole, who turns 70 on October 25, was four weeks into a five-week break in the north African country when the pair were held on September 18.

Former deputy speaker of the House of Commons Nigel Evans, a gay MP, said he would be writing to the Moroccan ambassador to plea for his release as soon as possible.

Read: Family of jailed Deal man press for his release

He's seventy years old in a fortnight and went to Morocco for a holiday. But Ray Cole is now locked up in an overcrowded, overseas jail cell for four months - apparently because he's gay.

Mr Cole left his home in Deal and flew to Marrakesh for a five week stay. But he was arrested after he and a male friend were held at a bus stop in Gueliz by police, and compromising pictures were discovered on the friend's mobile phone. Both are now in prison.

Ray's son and daughter say their dad's done nothing wrong and that he would never have flaunted his sexuality in public.

They say he would have been careful not to offend local sensibilities and customs. David Johns reports, speaking to Ray's son, Adrian; Ray's MP, Charlie Elphicke; and Gillian Edwards from the Association of British Travel Agents.

The son of a British pensioner jailed in Morocco for "homosexual acts" has spoken to ITV Meridian about his father who was on holiday when he was arrested and sentenced.