Yesterday marked 100 days since the imprisonment of Moroccan feminist Ibtissame Betty Lachgar for the crime of wearing an allegedly blasphemous t-shirt. The Freethinker is proud to be part of a coalition calling for her immediate release and a change in Morocco’s laws to ensure that free speech is protected rather than criminalised. The letter is reproduced below, and you can find out more about Betty’s plight, including what you as an individual can do to help her (such as signing the coalition’s petition), here.
30 MONTHS FOR A T-SHIRT
A Global Coalition Demands the Immediate and Unconditional Release of Ibtissame Betty Lachgar on the 100th Day of her Incarceration
We, the undersigned organisations, condemn the conviction and imprisonment of Ibtissame Betty Lachgar, a Moroccan feminist and human rights defender sentenced to 30 months in prison for posting a photo of herself wearing a T-shirt reading “Allah is Lesbian” in London on social media.
She had previously worn the T-shirt in 2022 outside Morocco as a statement against the persecution of lesbian women in Iran. The slogan draws from the historic feminist phrase “I saw God. She is black, communist, and lesbian.”
Betty’s imprisonment since 10 August 2025 represents a grave violation of universal human rights. She is detained solely for the peaceful exercise of her freedom of thought and expression. Her conviction under Article 267-5 of the Moroccan Penal Code contradicts Morocco’s obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).
She has been denied urgent medical treatment and held in isolation, contrary to the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (Mandela Rules). Authorities have also failed to address the widespread death and rape threats directed at her.
The Free Betty Coalition urges the Moroccan authorities to:
- Immediately and unconditionally release Ibtissame Betty Lachgar.
- Apply alternative penalties available under Moroccan law, such as house arrest or public service.
- Ensure conditions that respect her health and dignity, including an end to isolation and inhumane treatment.
- Provide urgent and adequate specialised medical care, consistent with international standards.
- Repeal Article 267-5 of the Penal Code and all provisions restricting freedom of expression.
Signed:
Action, Culture & Émancipation; Against Illiteracy and Poverty; All Out; Altradimora; Association marocaine des droits humains; Atheist & Agnostic Alliance Pakistan; Atheist Refugee Relief; Black Nonbelievers; Bread and Roses TV; California Freethought Day; Center for Civil Courage; Central Council of Ex-Muslims of Scandinavia; Charlie Hebdo; Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain; Council of Ex-Muslims of Germany; Council of Ex-Muslims of Sri Lanka; De Balie; Det norske Hedningsamfunn; Entre les lignes entre les mots; esSENSE Global India; European Network of Migrant Women; ExMuslims International, including 24 organisations; Ex-Muslims of North America; Ex-Muslims of Norway; Ex-Muslims of Toronto; Faithless Hijabi; FEMEN; Féminisme et géopolitique; Feminist Dissent; Femmes Solidaires; FiLiA; Fitnah, Movement for Women’s Liberation; Freedom From Religion Foundation; Freethought Lebanon; Freethought Society; Human Rights Tattoo; Humanist Mutual Aid Network; Humanists Sweden; Iniziativa Laica; International Committee against Executions and Stoning; International Feminist Front, including 81 member organisations; Kif Mama Kif Baba; L’Association Nationale des Études Féministes; La Fuerza de Mujeres; Laiques sans Frontieres; Learning through skills acquisition initiative – LETSAI Nigeria; Les Amazones d’Avignon; Ligue du Droit International des Femmes; Livonia Salon; MALI, Mouvement Alternatif pour les Libertés Individuelles Morocco; Manaarah; Marea; MicroMega; Mouvement pour l’émancipation et la liberté de pensée; Muslimish; National Secular Society; Norwegian Humanist Association; One Law for All; Pale Blue Dot Films; Peter Tatchell Foundation; Project Resist; Rainbow Refugee Committee; Regards de femmes; Secularism is a Woman’s Issue; Shuddhashar FreeVoice; Southall Black Sisters; Tallahassee Atheists; The Dissident Club; The Freethinker; The Pensive Quill; Union femmes socialistes; Uniting The Cults; Viva Vegas Project; Women Create International and Women Declaration International.
Related reading
Image of the week: ‘Allah is lesbian’ (#FreeBetty), by Daniel James Sharp
Freedom of expression lives where offence begins: In defence of Ibtissame Betty Lachgar, by Maryam Namazie
Abortion and Bodily Autonomy: Restriction, Repression, and Feminist Fightback, by Maryam Namazie
Image of the week: 20 years since the Jyllands-Posten cartoons controversy, by Daniel James Sharp
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