KEY POINTS
- Ibtissame Lachgar sentenced to 30 months in prison and fined £4,027 for 'causing harm to Islam'.
- Her legal team are appealing the sentence, after her request for release on medical grounds was denied.
- Human rights groups say the ruling highlights Morocco's restrictions on freedom of expression.
A Moroccan feminist and atheist activist has been jailed for 30 months after posting a photo of herself on social media wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with the phrase 'Allah is a lesbian', triggering widespread outrage in the conservative North African country.
Ibtissame Lachgar, a developmental psychologist and long-time campaigner for women's and LGBTQ+ rights, was sentenced by the Rabat Court of First Instance for 'causing harm to Islam'. Alongside the prison term, she was fined around £4,027.
The Public Prosecutor's Office announced last month that it had ordered an urgent investigation after Lachgar shared the photograph online. 'Following a woman's posting of a photo on her social media account, which depicts her wearing a shirt with phrases offensive to the divine, along with a caption insulting Islam, the public prosecutor ordered an investigation', the statement read. Lachgar was held in police custody before being charged.
Her defence team has lodged an appeal, arguing that her activism and social media commentary fall within the freedom of expression. The court previously rejected a request to release her on medical grounds for health reasons. Lachgar's sister said she is a cancer survivor.
Activism and History of Protest
Lachgar is the co-founder of the Mouvement alternatif pour les libertés individuelles (MALI), which campaigns for secular values and individual freedoms including abortion rights and same-sex marriage. She has a history of confrontations with authorities over her outspoken activism.
In 2013, she co-organised a public 'kiss-in' outside Morocco's parliament after three teenagers were arrested for posting a photo of themselves kissing on Facebook. The demonstration was aimed at challenging laws against 'violating public decency'.
A year earlier, in 2012, she invited the Dutch pro-choice group Women on Waves to sail its so-called 'abortion boat' to Morocco as part of a protest against restrictive abortion laws. The vessel was blocked by authorities from docking at the port of Smir.
Her activism has consistently sparked controversy, but the latest case is one of the harshest punishments she has faced.
Social Media Backlash
Lachgar's post, uploaded on 31 July, included the photo of her posing with her hands on her hips, smiling in the T-shirt. In accompanying text she accused Islam of being misogynistic. 'In Morocco, I walk around with T-shirts bearing messages against religions, Islam, etc. You tire us with your sanctimoniousness, your accusations. Yes, Islam, like any religious ideology, is FASCIST. PHALLOCRATIC AND MISOGYNISTIC', she wrote.
She later said she had received 'cyber bullying, thousands of threats of rape, death, calls for lynching and stoning'. Among the vitriol, one user wrote: 'Our country is in danger; this woman named Ibtissem Lachgar is currently free. She was born in Rabat and currently lives in Morocco. She is a feminist activist, anti-royalist, pro-secularism, and openly Islamophobic. Her freedom is an insult to all Moroccans.'
Limits on Expression
Under Moroccan law, expression deemed critical of Islam, the monarchy or the country's territorial integrity is prohibited and can be punished with imprisonment. A 2002 media law restricts publications, while the penal code prescribes six months to two years in prison and fines up to around £40,000 for anyone found guilty of 'causing harm' to Islam.
There is precedent for such prosecutions. In 2007, editor Driss Ksikes and journalist Sanaa al-Aji received three-year suspended sentences and fines of nearly £6,000 each after publishing an article about religious jokes in the magazine Nichane. They were accused of 'defaming Islam and damaging morality'.
Reaction and Debate
While many Moroccans expressed fury over Lachgar's post, some voices online supported her defiance. The image sparked heated debate over the boundaries of free expression in a country where religion is tightly entwined with law and public life.
Rights advocates argue the case highlights the gap between Morocco's reputation as one of the region's more liberal societies and its strict enforcement of laws protecting Islam from criticism.
International attention is likely to grow, with human rights groups expected to call for her release. Supporters point to Lachgar's history as a campaigner for secular values and women's rights as evidence that her actions were political protest rather than criminal offence.
For now, Lachgar remains behind bars, appealing a sentence that has again placed Morocco at the centre of a debate over religion, free expression and women's rights.
