In collaboration with the #FreeBetty coalition, Avaaz has launched a petition urging the King of Morocco to grant Ibtissame Betty Lachgar a royal pardon. We ask you to add your name today.

As you know, Betty is currently imprisoned in Morocco, serving a two-and-a-half-year sentence, simply for wearing a t-shirt with the slogan ‘Allah is lesbian.’ Her imprisonment violates Morocco’s human rights obligations, including protections for freedom of expression and belief, and constitutes arbitrary punishment against dissent, feminist activism, and LGBT rights. Yet Betty remains behind bars.

Her situation is now critical. Doctors have warned that without urgent surgery, she risks losing her arm due to bone cancer.

This outcome is not inevitable. The King of Morocco has the power to grant a royal pardon and he has done so before under sustained international pressure, including in a recent high-profile abortion case. In the wake of the largest nationwide protests since the Arab Spring, Moroccan authorities are acutely sensitive to global scrutiny.

International attention can save Betty’s life.

Please sign and share the petition calling for her immediate release and access to urgent medical treatment.