Screenshot of Ibtissame Lachgar's tweet posted on X on July 31, 2025. SCREENSHOT OF @IBTISSAMEBETTY X ACCOUNT
On trial for insulting Islam
She faces up to five years in prison. Moroccan prosecutors charged her for posting an image of herself on X at the end of July wearing a T-shirt with the words "Allah is lesbian." Ibtissame Lachgar was scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday, August 27, for the first day of her trial, facing charges of "insulting the Islamic religion." A prominent Moroccan activist nicknamed "Betty," Lachgar was arrested on August 10 and placed in preventive detention until her hearing. Her supporters called the decision "disgraceful," especially after the court denied her request for release despite her fragile health – Lachgar is a cancer survivor. Since then, her supporters have rallied in Morocco and France. The feminist group Les Chiennes de Garde ("The female watchdogs") and the editorial team of the French satirical journal Charlie Hebdo have taken up her cause.
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Moroccan feminist activist Ibtissame 'Betty' Lachgar faces prosecution for 'insulting Islam'
