A Moroccan court on Wednesday, September 3, sentenced feminist activist Ibtissame Lachgar to 30 months behind bars for “offending Islam”, her lawyer told Agence France-Presse (AFP), adding that the defense plans to appeal.
Lachgar, a 50-year-old clinical psychologist known for her activism, was arrested last month after posting online a picture of herself wearing a T-shirt with the word “Allah” in Arabic followed by “is lesbian”.
Outside the courtroom, friends and family of Lachgar began weeping as the verdict was announced, an AFP correspondent said. Hakim Sikouk, president of the Moroccan Association for Human Rights, called the sentence “shocking” and an “attack” on freedom of expression.
During an earlier hearing, Lachgar told a judge that the message on her T-shirt was a “feminist slogan which has existed for years, against sexist ideologies and violence against women… and has no connection to the Islamic faith”.
Source: Moroccan feminist activist Ibtissame Lachgar gets 30 months in jail for ‘offending Islam’