Moroccan feminist and LGBTQ2S+ activist sentenced to prison in blasphemy case

People stand outside a courthouse in Sale, near Rabat, Morocco, Thursday, May 16, 2019. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

RABAT, Morocco — A Moroccan court sentenced a prominent feminist activist to two and a half years in prison and US$5,000 in fines for blasphemy in a case that has alarmed human rights groups and drawn widespread attention.

The presiding judge ruled late Wednesday night that Ibtissam Lachgar was guilty of violating part of Morocco’s criminal code that outlaws offending the monarchy or Islam because of messages on a T-shirt she wore in a selfie posted online, her attorney Naïma El Guellaf told The Associated Press. Lachgar was charged with blasphemy and with disseminating the image online.

One of the attorneys told AP they plan to appeal the conviction.

“Not only is this verdict unjust, but it also threatens the freedom of speech and opinion,″ Hamid Sikouk of the Moroccan Association of Human Rights told the AP.

At Wednesday’s hearing, Lachgar, wearing a headscarf and appearing fatigued, told the judge she had no intention of offending Islam. She argued that the T-shirt she wore reflected a political message and bore a slogan long used against sexist ideologies and violence toward women.

Her defence team argued that the online post did not constitute an offence to Islam.

“God is not only for Muslims, but also for Christians and Jews. I don’t see any offence to Islam in that publication,” lawyer El Guellaf told the court. ‘’I am Muslim myself, and I don’t feel offended by it.’’

Another attorney, Souad Brahma, head of the Moroccan Association of Human Rights, warned of a backslide in human rights in the kingdom and said her client was speaking about religions in general, not Islam.

The defence said wearing the T-shirt falls under freedom of expression, a constitutional right in Morocco, and called the charges unconstitutional.

The shirt featured writing referring to the sexual identity of a deity and calling Islam fascist and misogynistic.

Long known for provocative activism, Lachgar, 50, is a psychologist and co-founder of the Alternative Movement for Individuals Freedoms, known by its French acronym MALI. She is an outspoken and vocal defender of rights for women and LGBTQ2S+ communities in Morocco.

Her arrest polarized public opinion across Morocco. Some see it as a valid response to provocation and others view it as a violation of democracy and freedom of speech. Though the country is politically moderate compared to others in the Middle East and North Africa, same-sex relations are illegal and certain kinds of speech can bring criminal charges.

Lachgar has called for decriminalizing sex outside of marriage, which remains illegal. She also made headlines more than a decade ago when she organized a demonstration outside Morocco’s parliament, where couples kissed to support two teenagers facing indecency charges after posting a photo of themselves kissing on Facebook.

Akram Oubachir, The Associated Press