'I tried to help kids while on holiday but was held in jail'

A 20-year-old man from Greater Manchester was arrested, charged and held in jail in Morocco after setting up a fundraiser to provide food and essentials for people in need.

Sam Rushton, of Stalybridge, arrived for a six-day holiday in Marrakesh with his older brother on 2 March and was detained three days later after filming himself buying and handing out supplies to children.

After being held in jail and signing some papers he says he did not understand, his passport and phone were taken before a legal case began and he was released pending a trial on 27 April.

He said: "The police grabbed me and I was at the station all night. I've been told I could be jailed for six months to three years."

He has been charged with two counts of violating recording consent laws in Morocco by recording information or conversations in a private or confidential context, without the consent of their authors.

Rushton, a carer for his disabled mum, said the holiday was a last-minute booking with his older brother Jack and was meant to be a dream trip filled with activities and sightseeing.

But when Rushton ventured out of the resort he said he was struck by the number of people, especially children, who were begging and in need.

He told BBC Radio Manchester: "It was my first time in Marrakesh. And there were so many people in need - and these people just wanted milk, oil, bread, nappies.

"It started when I took this kid to the shop because he wanted something - he must have been about 10 years old and he wanted to buy oil, nappies and powdered milk."

After this, he said he decided he wanted to do more to help.

"I used my money to buy some more stuff to take it to the market and give out to people," he said.

"But there was that many people on the way to the market - that I didn't even make it there.

"So I made a social media post and shared it with friends and family, asking if anyone wanted to send any money so I could buy more essentials to give out."

He said he raised £200, which he then spent on essential items to hand out on 5 March - but, one hour later, he was arrested and detained by local authorities.

"I'd bought loads more stuff and I'd been giving it out for about an hour.

"And I took a couple pictures just to prove that was what I was doing with the money that was sent to me."

Rushton said he was then grabbed by police before being held at three separate police stations.

"I'd been there for hours," he said. "Until five in the morning.

"It was dark, there was cats running around and it was just me and a guy walking behind me and a guy walking in front of me."

He said hours later, "some guy took my statements [and] said if I sign them then I can go - I didn't think, I was knackered, I wanted to go sleep, I just wanted to go - so I signed these papers".

"I couldn't even understand them they were in Arabic - but they said if I signed them I could go."

He was then charged but missed his flight home as his passport and phone had been taken from him. However, he was able to fly home to Manchester on 14 March but the outcome of his trial in Marrakesh on 27 April remains to be seen.

Penalties for such charges can range from an £160 fine to three years in prison.

"If I didn't have all the help that I had, I would have been homeless there," he said.

"But, luckily, I was with my brother and then my girlfriend came up and my mom and my grandma were sending me money because I had nothing.

"I couldn't even check into a new hotel because I had no passport."

His mum, Rachel Rushton, 49, said she was in "panic mode" as soon as her eldest son, Jack, called her with the news about her son's arrest.

"I just thought the worst," she said. "I didn't sleep the night it happened - I just couldn't.

"I phoned the embassy, I didn't get much joy there - I was trying to phone the police station, nobody answers the phone.

"I was anxious as anything. I just wanted to know what was going on.

"He just wanted to make a difference and help," she added. "He wasn't fighting, or drinking, nothing like that - he thought he was doing the right thing.

"Now we don't know what will happen next - it's frightening as a mum to think about."

An Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) spokesperson said: "We are supporting the family of a British man who was detained in Morocco and are in touch with the local authorities."

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