Despite cancer struggle and amputation risk, Moroccan feminist Ibtissame Lachgar denied release over blasphemy

A Moroccan court has denied the release of feminist activist Ibtissame Lachgar, keeping her behind bars despite serious health concerns, as her trial for "offending Islam" sparks national and international outrage.

On Wednesday, her defence team asked Rabat's first instance court to free the 50-year-old on medical grounds, citing reports that she is undergoing cancer treatment and could face an arm amputation if urgent surgery is not carried out. 

The court denied the request and scheduled the next hearing for 3 September.

At the hearing, Lachgar appeared with her left arm in a sling, briefly smiling at supporters in the room. She has been held in solitary confinement at El Arjat prison near Rabat since her arrest on 12 August.

The co-founder of the Alternative Movement for Individual Freedoms (MALI) was detained after posting a photo on social media wearing a T-shirt that read "Allah is lesbian."

In the caption, she described Islam, "like all religions," as "fascist, patriarchal, and misogynist." 

If convicted under Article 267-5 of Morocco's penal code, which criminalises publicly or online offending of Islam, Lachgar faces up to five years in prison.

Her sister, Siam Lachgar, who was in France at the time of the arrest, said she had been worried after seeing a social media post in which Betty reported cyber harassment, death threats, and threats of sexual violence. 

"Put the T-shirt in the context of Betty's whole fight. Knowing her activism in Morocco… She fights for individual freedoms and women's rights," she told French media.

Until now, Lachgar had never been imprisoned, despite engaging in provocative actions such as distributing abortion pills banned in Morocco through her collective, which she co-founded in 2009. 

She is a polarising figure in the North African country, known for high-profile activism in support of women's and LGBTQ+ rights.

Her campaigns have included organising a "kiss-in" outside parliament, advocating for abortion rights, and challenging conservative religious norms. 

Inspired by radical feminist movements such as Femen, the trained psychologist turned activist has staged other controversial actions, including supporting a Dutch boat offering abortions and reclaiming public spaces through civil disobedience.

In 2020, she told Moroccan weekly TelQuel, "Rights and freedoms have to be taken… It is not by acting cautiously, politely, or politically correctly that progress will be made." 

Her first prominent action was a 2009 picnic during Ramadan, which led to her first detention.

Blasphemy remains a red line in Morocco, and Lachgar has received limited support from local progressive groups. 

The local women's rights movement KifMama KifBaba stated it does not share Lachgar's radical approach, "but we believe freedom of expression must be protected and that prison should not be the response to disagreements or divergent opinions."

"Today, as in the past, we encourage our country to strengthen its commitment to freedom of expression as well as other individual liberties and the fight against violence against women."

Some civil society figures, including lawyer Abderrahim Jamai, have also defended her on the grounds of freedom of expression. 

However, her T-shirt sparked outrage among conservatives and Islamists, including a former justice minister, and did not unite the Moroccan left. 

Many consider the post "unnecessarily provocative" in a society where surveys show most citizens remain devout.

Political journalist Abdellah Tourabi notes that her confrontational style may resonate in Europe but could be counterproductive in Morocco, "where women continue to fight for basic rights such as child custody and alimony."

The largest human rights organisation in Morocco, the Moroccan Association for Human Rights (AMDH), condemned her detention as "a violation of freedom of expression."

AMDH president Souad Brahma has joined Lachgar's legal defence team.

Internationally, campaigns calling for the release of Lachgar, known as "Betty", have gained more support. 

An online petition has garnered over 3,700 signatures, and a protest in Paris on 15 August, organised by the International Feminist Front, called for her freedom. 

The French Communist Party called her arrest "unjust and violent, dictated by hatred and obscurantism" and demanded her immediate release and the dropping of charges.

Protests have erupted outside Moroccan consulates in several countries on the day of her trial. 

In Algeciras, Spain, a protest was organised by the feminist group La Fuerza de las Mujeres. Activists gathered outside the Moroccan consulate to demand Lachgar's release, protesting "the political and misogynistic" nature of the charges against her.

Similarly, in London, a protest was held at the Moroccan Embassy on the same day, organised by Ex-Muslims International and Faithless Hijabi. 

"It is always the non-violent expression of freethinkers that is branded 'offensive' and criminal. Yet the religious offend women, LGBT, ex-Muslims and non-believers every single day," said Veiled Rose, of Faithless Hijabi organisation, in a press release.