RABAT, Morocco (AP) — Attorneys for a Moroccan feminist on trial for blasphemy said their request for her to be released due to health concerns was rejected Wednesday.
Attorneys for Ibtissam Lachgar asked the presiding judge to grant her provisional freedom while the court in Rabat considers whether messages on a T-shirt she was wearing in a selfie she posted online violated part of Morocco’s criminal code outlawing offending the monarchy or Islam.
Naima Elguellaf, her attorney, said Lachgar was battling cancer and struggling while cut off from needed care.
“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,” Elguellaf told reporters after court adjourned.
One of Lachgar’s attorneys said in the evening that the court had rejected the request.
Lachgar’s health concerns are the latest chapter in a case that has captured global attention and fragmented public opinion at home in Morocco.
Long known for provocative activism, Lachgar was arrested last month after posting the photo of herself in the shirt with writing referring to the sexual identity of a deity and calling Islam fascist and misogynistic. She was charged with blasphemy and with disseminating the image online.
She faces up to five years in prison and up to $20,000 in fines if convicted.
Blasphemy has long been illegal in Morocco and cases like Lachgar’s occasionally make headlines, including in 2022, when a 32-year-old blogger was sentenced to five years after sharing satirical posts in which she mocked the Quran.
Lachgar, 50, is a psychologist and co-founder of the Alternative Movement for Individual Freedoms, known by its French acronym MALI. She is a vocal defender of women’s and LGBTQ rights in Morocco.
Though the country is politically moderate compared to others in the Middle East and North Africa, same-sex relations are illegal, certain kinds of speech can bring criminal charges, and feminists say gender inequality persists.
Lachgar has called for decriminalizing sex outside of marriage, which remains illegal. In 2009, she staged a midday picnic during Ramadan to protest the ban on eating and drinking in public during the holy month when a majority of the country fasts.
She also made headlines more than a decade ago when she organized a demonstration outside Morocco’s parliament, where couples kissed to support two teenagers facing indecency charges after posting a photo of themselves kissing on Facebook.
In court on Wednesday, Lachgar wore an arm sling and a headscarf as her attorneys protested how she was kept in isolation while behind bars.
Her arrest has polarized public opinion across Morocco. Some see it as a valid response to provocation and others view it as a violation of democracy and freedom of speech.
“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 Morocco’s largest Islamist party.
Morocco’s Federation of Women’s Rights Associations has said the case is deeply concerning, merits “strong condemnation,” and violates laws protecting freedom of expression.
