The retrial of a Moroccan feminist sentenced for “offending Islam” began on Monday, according to an AFP journalist present at the court.
Ibtissame Lachgar, a 50-year-old clinical psychologist and prominent women’s rights activist, was sentenced last month to 30 months in prison after she posted a photo online wearing a T-shirt that read “Allah is lesbian” in Arabic.
She was arrested in August and fined 50,000 dirhams ($5,500). Lachgar’s lawyers appealed the verdict.
Human Rights Watch has urged Moroccan authorities to overturn the conviction, calling it “a huge blow to free speech.”
In her post, Lachgar also described Islam as “a religious ideology… fascist, phallocratic, and misogynistic.” The post sparked outrage and widespread calls for her arrest.
Moroccan feminist sentenced to 30 months for blasphemy due to T-shirt slogan
➡️ pic.twitter.com/gUaXomiF0R— FRANCE 24 English (@France24_en) September 3, 2025
During Monday’s hearing, Lachgar told the judge that the phrase on her T-shirt was a feminist slogan, not intended as an attack on Islam.
Under Morocco’s penal code, anyone who “offends the Islamic religion” can face up to two years in prison, or up to five years if the offence is committed publicly — including online.
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Lachgar’s lawyers had previously requested her release on medical grounds, stating she suffers from cancer and urgently needed surgery on her left arm in September. They warned that without the procedure, amputation could become necessary.
Moroccan feminist activist accused of ‘offending Islam’ has trial postponed
➡️ pic.twitter.com/ciPqgVkbVc— FRANCE 24 English (@France24_en) August 14, 2025
The prosecution on Monday asked the court to uphold the conviction and increase the sentence, arguing that her post threatened public order and the “spiritual wellbeing of Moroccans.”