On 27 August 2025, protesters gathered outside the Moroccan Embassy in London to demand the immediate release of Moroccan activist Ibtissame Betty Lachgar, arrested and prosecuted for “attacking the Muslim faith” after sharing a photo of herself wearing a T-shirt that read: “Allah is a Lesbian.”
The protest was attended by secularists, apostates from Islam and Hinduism, women’s rights activists, and human rights defenders. Those present included Maryam Namazie (Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain), Rahila Gupta (writer and human rights activist), Veiled Rose (Faithless Hijabi), representatives of Ex-Muslims International, the National Secular Society, Leicester Secular Society, and FiLiA women’s rights organisation. Supporters travelled from across the UK to show solidarity.
Protesters held placards of Betty, chanted “Free Betty!”, and raised their voices against blasphemy laws, apostasy laws and apostophobia.
Creative Solidarity for betty and freedom
Protesters also used street art with chalk on the pavements outside the embassy, echoing the creative activism Betty herself has carried out with fellow activists such as Maryam Namazie and Fariborz Pooya.
Messages of dissent against dogma and solidarity with Betty — “Free Betty,” “Allah is Lesbian,” “Being LGBT is not an insult,” “Blasphemy is not a crime,” and “You are not alone” — were written boldly in chalk across the pavement in English, Arabic, and other languages.
This creative defiance connected the London protest directly to Betty’s own history of bold, visible grassroots resistance. It was a reminder that her arrest is not just an attack on one woman but on a global movement for freedom of conscience and expression.
Key Speeches by Maryam Namazie & Veiled Rose
Maryam Namazie (Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain / Ex-Muslims International) said:
An ardent, selfless activist and cancer survivor has been detained and denied medical care, her liberty taken for exercising free speech in the fight for women’s autonomy and against apostophobia — the visceral, irrational hatred of apostates. This is an inhuman act of repression.
Veiled Rose (Faithless Hijabi / Ex-Muslims International) added:
It is the Bettys of yesteryear who ensured the freedoms we enjoy today. Religious dogmas have always silenced women. In the West, we only enjoy our rights because of difficult women like Betty who refused to stay silent. I thank Betty, and I thank the many Bettys before her, for their courage and defiance.
Update on Betty’s Case
On the same day as the London protest, Betty’s trial in Rabat was postponed for another week. Her lawyers requested provisional release on urgent medical grounds, as she faces surgery for a cancer-related injury. Without this operation, she risks partial amputation of her arm.
Despite the medical urgency, the prosecutor opposed her release. Betty remains in detention, where she has been held in solitary confinement and denied group exercise — conditions her defence described as “inhumane and an affront to dignity.”
Observers at the hearing reported heavy security, gender segregation inside the courtroom, and tight restrictions on journalists, underscoring the political weight of the case.
Why betty and her case Matters
Betty is not in prison for harming anyone — she harmed no one, threatened no one. She is jailed solely for exercising her freedom of expression and for her commitment to women’s rights, LGBT rights, and freedom of belief and unbelief.
Her case has become a flashpoint in Morocco’s struggle between constitutional guarantees of free expression and the Penal Code provisions on religion and morality that continue to stifle dissent.
Our Demands to #freebetty
We call for…
- The immediate release of Ibtissame “Betty” Lachgar
- Urgent access for her to receive medical care
- The abolition of blasphemy laws in Morocco and worldwide
- Protection of apostates, women, and LGBTQ+ people from harassment, threats, and imprisonment
The protest in London sent a clear message:
Being LGBTQ+ is not an insult. Blasphemy is not a crime. No one belongs in jail for words!