TAKE ACTION FOR HUMAN RIGHTS

FEMINIST AND LGBTI RIGHTS ACTIVIST IMPRISONED FOR PEACEFUL EXPRESSION

Morocco and Western Sahara UA 103.25

Moroccan feminist and LGBTI rights defender, Ibtissame (“Betty”) Lachgar, is serving a 30-month prison sentence after being convicted of “causing harm to Islam” for posting on social media a photograph of herself wearing a T-shirt bearing the slogan “Allah is lesbian.” Moroccan police arrested Ibtissame Lachgar on August 10, 2025, and a prosecutor ordered her pre-trial detention pending investigation on accusations of “intentional insult to Islam or sacred symbols.” On September 3, 2025, the Rabat First-Instance Court found her guilty under Article 267-5 of the Moroccan Penal Code, which criminalizes “intentional insult to Islam or sacred symbols” via publications, including online. She was sentenced to two and a half years’ imprisonment and a fine of 50,000 dirhams (approximately 5500 USD). On October 8, 2025, the Rabat Court of Appeal upheld the conviction and sentence.

Call on the Moroccan authorities to immediately release Ibtissame Lachgar and quash her sentence and conviction - send your message to the Embassy of Morocco in the United States using our email writing tool.

YOUR INFORMATION

First Name

Last Name

Email Address

Address

Apt., Ste., Bldg.

City

State

Postal Code

Country

Phone Number (Optional)

By providing your mobile number, you are signing up to receive calls, recurring messages from Amnesty International USA at 213-33. Repy STOP to quit. Msg and data rates may apply. Privacy & Terms.

Postal Address Sharing

Do not exchange my postal address with other organizations.

Customize your message

Her Highness Princess

Lalla

Joumala

Embassy of Morocco in the United States

Your Excellency,

I write to you to express my grave concern over the unjust imprisonment of feminist activist Ibtissame Lachgar who has been in arbitrary detention since August 10, 2025, simply for exercising her right to freedom of expression.

Lachgar was arrested, placed in detention, and prosecuted after she posted a photo of herself on social media wearing a black T-shirt reading “Allah is lesbian.” In the accompanying caption, she wrote critical remarks about Islam and other religions. The content of this post is protected expression under international human rights law which allows for the prohibition of expression only in very limited circumstances such as when it amounts to incitement to violence.

Lachgar is a cancer survivor and faces serious health complications, including a risk of losing the use of her left arm if she does not receive the urgent healthcare needed. Nonetheless, authorities denied multiple requests for her provisional release on medical grounds.

I urge you to immediately release Ibtissame Lachgar and quash her sentence and conviction which stem solely from her exercise of the right to freedom of expression. Pending her release, authorities must provide her with adequate healthcare that she urgently requires.

Yours sincerely,

{user_data~First Name} {user_data~Last Name}