Ibtissame Lachgar, a Moroccan feminist and LGBTQ+ rights campaigner, is reportedly at risk of losing her arm while serving a prison sentence for wearing a T-shirt deemed offensive to Islam.
Lachgar was arrested in August 2025 and later sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison after posting a photograph of herself wearing a shirt reading “Allah is a lesbian”. Authorities judged the slogan to violate Morocco’s blasphemy laws.
In a social media post dated 31 July 2025, Lachgar wrote:
“In Morocco, I walk around with T-shirts bearing messages against religions, Islam, etc. You tire us with your sanctimoniousness, your accusations. Yes, Islam, like any religious ideology, is fascist, phallocratic and misogynistic.”
The post triggered significant backlash. Lachgar later said she faced “cyber bullying, thousands of threats of rape [and] death, calls for lynching and stoning” over what she described as a “well-known (hijacked) feminist slogan”.
Medical Concerns in Salé Prison
The 50-year-old, a bone cancer survivor, is being held at Salé prison near Rabat. According to reports, she has sustained a fractured elbow during her detention.
Lachgar has a prosthesis between her left shoulder and elbow. Her family and legal team warn that without urgent specialist treatment, complications could lead to the amputation of her arm.
One of her lawyers, Ghizlane Mamouni, said:
“The decline in Ibtissame Lachgar’s health is alarming. Her prosthesis has completely dislodged and she’s only being treated with paracetamol for that and the fractured elbow she has sustained during her detention, despite urgently requiring complex surgery.”
Another lawyer, Chirinne Ardakani, described the detention as arbitrary and said Lachgar had been subjected to inhumane conditions and denied appropriate medical care.
“She is being repressed as much for who she is – a woman, independent and committed to women’s and LGBTQIA+ rights – as for her beliefs,” Ardakani said.
Blasphemy Laws Under Scrutiny
Morocco criminalises criticism of Islam under its blasphemy laws, with penalties that include prison terms. Lachgar is one of the few openly atheist public figures in the country.
Her sister, Siham, said the family is “extremely worried”, adding that Lachgar requires specialist care abroad.
“This punishment isn’t about her actions, but about what she stands for. It shows that, even today, you can be jailed simply for thinking differently,” she said.
The National Secular Society has previously called for Lachgar’s release. Its head of campaigns, Megan Manson, said:
“Blasphemy laws have no place anywhere. Freedom of expression must include freedom to criticise religion, even when that means offending religious sentiments.
We call for Lachgar to be released without charge and for Morocco to put an end to its draconian blasphemy laws.”
As concern grows over her deteriorating health, campaigners are renewing calls for urgent medical care and her immediate release.
