Dear Minister of Justice of Morocco Abdellatif Ouahbi and Head of Government of Morocco Aziz Akhannouch,
We are writing on behalf of Ex-Muslims International, a global coalition of ex-Muslim organisations with thousands of members worldwide, to express our strongest objection to the arrest and continued detention of Ibtissame Betty Lachgar, a Moroccan feminist, psychologist, and internationally recognised campaigner who has spent her life defending civil rights and free expression.
Betty has been awaiting trial in Rabat since 10 August 2025, charged under Article 267-5 of the Penal Code (“offending Islam”), and faces up to five years in prison for wearing an “Allah is Lesbian” T-Shirt. Her trial, initially scheduled for 27 August, has been postponed to 3 September 2025. During this time, Betty—already a cancer survivor requiring urgent surgery—remains in pre-trial detention. Reports confirm she appeared in court with an arm sling and that her lawyers have warned of the serious risks to her health. Despite this, the court has denied her provisional release on medical grounds.
Meanwhile, the campaign of harassment and threats against her—including rape and death threats, openly posted online and even tagging Morocco’s Security—has gone unpunished. Those inciting violence remain free, while Betty sits in prison for the non-violent expression of her opinion.
It is important to note that Islam, like any religion, is an idea — however sacred. International human rights standards are clear: the right to criticise ideas, including religious ones, is fundamental to freedom of thought and progress. ‘Insulting’ or questioning an idea cannot be equated with defaming or inciting hatred against individuals.
Furthermore, describing God as a lesbian should not be treated as an offence. God is almost universally assumed to be male without objection; to imagine the divine as female should not be grounds for criminalisation. It is worth recalling that in Morocco and the wider region, female deities such as Tanit in North Africa (venerated from the 5th century BCE in Carthage and across to Volubilis in Morocco) and the pre-Islamic Arabian goddesses Al-Lāt, Al-ʿUzzā, and Manāt (worshipped until the 7th century CE) were once revered, showing that imagining the divine as female is deeply rooted in the region’s own history.
For more than 15 years, Betty has been a leading voice for freedom: from organising the 2009 “Ramadan picnic” against coercive fasting laws, to the 2013 “kiss-in” defending teenagers prosecuted over a photo, to her tireless advocacy for women’s bodily autonomy, abortion rights, and LGBT equality. To prosecute Betty is to punish one of Morocco’s most courageous rights defenders.
As a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), Morocco has obligations to protect freedom of thought, conscience, belief, and expression. The UN Human Rights Committeemakes clear that blasphemy laws are incompatible with these protections.Whilst many in Morocco believe in Islam, many others don’t. The state is duty-bound to protect the freedom of expression of believers and non-believers alike.
We therefore urgently call on the Moroccan authorities to:
– Immediately and unconditionally release Ibtissame Betty Lachgar.
– Drop all charges that criminalise peaceful belief and expression.
– Guarantee Betty’s access to proper medical care and ensure her protection from harassment and threats.
The international community is watching. Betty’s continued detention is a travesty of justice. We call to you to act without delay and hold you accountable for her safety and well-being. Betty must be freed immediately and unconditionally.
Sincerely,
Maryam Namazie, Veiled Rose and Haram Doodles
On behalf of Ex-Muslims International
contact@ex-muslims.international
https://ex-muslims.international/