A Moroccan feminist charged with blasphemy over a controversial T-shirt has been denied release from detention despite urgent health concerns raised by her legal team.
According to The Associated Press, Ibtissam Lachgar, a prominent human rights activist and co-founder of a Moroccan feminist movement, is on trial in Rabat for allegedly violating laws against offending Islam after she posted a photo of herself wearing a shirt that read: “Allah is Lesbian.”
During a court hearing on Wednesday, Lachgar’s attorneys pleaded with the judge to grant her provisional freedom, citing a serious medical condition and upcoming surgery that could determine whether she loses her arm to cancer.
“She has a surgery planned in September, where doctors will decide whether she will still live with a prosthetic arm or have her arm amputated,” her attorney Naima Elguellaf told reporters outside the courtroom.
Despite the appeal, Lachgar’s attorneys later confirmed that the court rejected the request, keeping her behind bars as the legal process continues.
Lachgar, 50, is known for her decades of provocative activism in women’s and LGBTQ rights. Her arrest last month came after she posted the controversial T-shirt image online, along with a caption calling Islam “fascist and misogynistic.”
She is now facing up to five years in prison and $20,000 in fines if convicted under Morocco’s criminal code, which prohibits offending the monarchy or Islam.
Though Morocco has long outlawed blasphemy, Lachgar’s case has intensified scrutiny of the country’s laws governing speech and religion. In 2022, a 32-year-old blogger was sentenced to five years in prison for mocking the Quran in a satirical post.
Lachgar co-founded the Alternative Movement for Individual Freedoms (MALI) and has previously made headlines for defying cultural and religious norms in the name of personal freedom. In 2009, she staged a midday picnic during Ramadan to protest laws banning eating in public during the holy month. She also organized a demonstration outside Parliament in support of two teens charged with indecency after posting a photo of themselves kissing.
In court Wednesday, Lachgar appeared wearing a headscarf and an arm sling, while her attorneys criticized her isolation in custody.
The case has deeply divided public opinion in Morocco. Supporters view it as a dangerous crackdown on free speech and women’s rights, while others see her actions as deliberate provocation.
“The scope of the right to freedom of expression is broad and broad, but it does not extend to mocking people’s beliefs, nor does it tolerate grave insults to their religion,” said Mustapha Ramid, a former government minister and member of Morocco’s largest Islamist party.
The Federation of Women’s Rights Associations in Morocco condemned the arrest, saying the case “merits strong condemnation” and represents a violation of laws protecting freedom of expression.
While the court weighs whether Lachgar’s online expression crosses a legal line, human rights groups and international observers are expected to closely monitor the case in the coming weeks—especially as concerns about her health continue to mount.
