Holidaymakers have been urged to boycott Morocco following the imprisonment of a British tourist for "homosexual acts".

Campaigners have targeted the Moroccan tourist board's Facebook page urging travellers to reconsider trips there and calling for the country’s authorities to release him.

Ray Cole, a retired magazine publisher from Kent, was arrested in Marrakesh last month and has been sentenced to four months in prison, according to Pink News .

Mr Cole travelled to Marrakesh in September on holiday to visit a Moroccan man, Jamal Walk Nass.

According to the BBC, he was jailed after the pair were approached by the police at a bus stop.

Adrian Cole, his son, said the 69 year-old was jailed for four months on Thursday last week.

The family has asked supporters to add their comments on the country’s official tourism Facebook page – and many sympathisers have followed their request.

“Morocco is beautiful country with welcoming and friendly people,” wrote one Facebook user.

“But with the imprisonment of... Ray Cole that viewpoint is endangered and unfortunately could have a detrimental impact on Morocco as a tourist destination. Please do everything to faciliate [SIC] his release back to his family”.

“Jailing 70 year old men for being gay! Not the kind of country I want to visit,” added another Facebook user.

A Facebook page now exists calling for his prompt release, while the campaign has also spread to Twitter, with supporters using the hashtag #freeraycole.

&lt;noframe&gt;Twitter: Jes - A 70 year old man, jailed in Morocco just because he is gay, disgraceful! Plz plz plz sign this petition &lt;a href="https://t.co/V4RR9Mx3gJ" target="_blank"&gt;https://t.co/V4RR9Mx3gJ&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/search?src=hash&amp;q=%23FREERAYCOLE" target="_blank"&gt;#FREERAYCOLE&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/noframe&gt;

&lt;noframe&gt;Twitter: Matthew Harper - &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/search?src=hash&amp;q=%23freeraycole" target="_blank"&gt;#freeraycole&lt;/a&gt; Ray's family are touched by immense support.As requested by many here's the link for donations &lt;a href="https://t.co/8rJCvMGI71" target="_blank"&gt;https://t.co/8rJCvMGI71&lt;/a&gt; please RT&lt;/noframe&gt;

The Conservative MP for Dover and Deal, Charlie Elphicke, said holidaymakers should stay away from the country.

He told Pink News: "I have been doing all I can to help free Mr Cole from these appalling charges.

"I urge people not to visit Morocco. If you go there you are at serious risk of facing trumped up charges for medieval crimes.

“The message is clear: Morocco is not safe for British tourists."

In the Foreign Office's advice on Morocco's local laws and customs, it warns visitors that "homosexuality is a criminal offence in Morocco" and that "sexual relations outside marriage are also punishable by law."

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