10 December 2025
The Rt Hon David Lammy MP
Foreign Secretary
Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO)
King Charles Street
London SW1A 2AH, United Kingdom
fcdo.correspondence@fcdo.gov.uk
Dear Foreign Secretary David Lammy,
On International Human Rights Day, we write to urge urgent and decisive intervention in the case of Ibtissame Betty Lachgar, a Moroccan feminist, psychologist, and human rights defender whose imprisonment exposes the escalating repression of activists, LGBT people, secular voices, and dissenting women in Morocco. Her case also raises significant concerns for British nationals and UK residents, including dual nationals, due to its unprecedented extraterritorial basis.
In August 2025 Betty was arrested and sentenced to 30 months in prison for posting a photograph of herself wearing a T-shirt that read “Allah is Lesbian.” The T-shirt was originally created in solidarity with two Iranian lesbians who were sentenced to death, and the photograph was taken outside of Morocco. For this act, undertaken in London, she has been convicted under Article 267-5 of the Moroccan Penal Code. This human rights violation is also a profound and dangerous extension of Morocco’s blasphemy laws beyond its borders.
If Morocco can imprison someone for peaceful expression in London, then:
- British nationals travelling to Morocco may be at risk for social media posts made years earlier while in the UK.
- British feminists, LGBT activists, secularists, academics and journalists could face prosecution for speech outside Moroccan jurisdiction.
- Dual nationals and residents with Moroccan heritage are placed in particular danger, with no clarity on what online content may trigger criminal charges upon arrival.
- UK citizens posting political criticism, satire, art, or comments critical of religion, all legal in the United Kingdom, could be criminalised retroactively.
This case, therefore, has direct implications for the safety, freedom of expression, and rights of all travellers to Morocco. It sets a precedent that the UK Government cannot ignore.
A Life-Threatening Human-Rights Emergency
Betty is a bone cancer survivor with a left-arm prosthesis and urgent medical needs. Medical documentation already warns of severe osteolysis, a fully dislocated elbow, an unstable shoulder, and a real risk of amputation without immediate surgery. She is held in isolation in a cold cell without appropriate bedding or medical care.
Her condition is deteriorating rapidly: escalating pain, reduced mobility, difficulty washing or using the toilet safely, insomnia due to lack of bedding, and increasing disability. This constitutes inhumane and degrading treatment in breach of the Mandela Rules. The refusal of an alternative non-custodial sentence, available under Moroccan law, further demonstrates punitive intent, especially given the court’s reference to the ‘dangerousness of the infraction,’ a troubling characterisation of non-violent expression. Under the non-custodial sentences law, there are five specific objective criteria, none of which includes ‘dangerousness of the infraction.’ She is fully eligible under the law.
Her imprisonment followed an orchestrated online campaign of rape and death threats, none of which have been investigated. The state has criminalised the individual under attack, while those inciting violence remain untouched. This failure of protection is part of a broader pattern affecting activists, journalists, LGBT people and women’s rights defenders.
The International Coalition to Free Betty, composed of hundreds of organisations representing hundreds of thousands of members, has condemned her imprisonment and is escalating coordinated advocacy across diplomatic and public channels. The case is already a focal point of international attention and will continue to be until she is free.
What the UK Government Must Do Now
Given the severity of the human rights violations, the risks posed to Betty’s life, and the dangerous extraterritorial precedent now affecting British nationals, we urge the UK Government to:
- Publicly call for the immediate and unconditional release of Ibtissame Betty Lachgar, stressing that the criminalised act took place in London.
- Raise the case urgently and at the highest diplomatic levels with the Moroccan Foreign Ministry and Ministry of Justice.
- Press for her immediate transfer to specialised medical treatment, including the surgery already deemed urgent.
- Seek assurances regarding her safety, humane conditions, and an end to isolation while she remains detained.
- Request formal clarification from the Moroccan authorities regarding the application of Article 267-5 to expression outside Morocco and the impact on British travellers, residents, dual nationals and activists.
- Call on Morocco to investigate the rape and death threats against her, in line with its international obligations.
- Urge Morocco to abolish Article 267-5, which criminalises peaceful expression and violates the ICCPR.
Betty’s imprisonment is unjust, life-threatening, and unlawful under the international human rights frameworks to which Morocco is bound. It also places British citizens and residents at risk by establishing the precedent that activities in the United Kingdom may lead to prosecution abroad.
Her case demands urgent UK intervention, not only out of human rights principles but also out of necessity for the protection of all those in the UK who exercise their freedom of expression in this country.
Please do not hesitate to contact us for further information at m.namazie@ex-muslim.org.uk or +447719166731. We look forward to your urgent intervention. We look forward to your urgent intervention. Betty’s release is both necessary and non-negotiable.
Yours sincerely,
Maryam Namazie and Siham Lachgar
On behalf of the International Coalition to Free Betty
https://freebetty.org/
Copy to:
His Majesty’s Ambassador to the Kingdom of Morocco Alex Pinfield OBE
British Embassy Rabat
28 Avenue S.A.R. Sidi Mohammed Souissi, BP 45, 10105 Rabat, Morocco
Rabat.enquiries@fcdo.gov.uk