The Freedom From Religion Foundation is sounding the alarm after a Moroccan feminist and human rights activist was outrageously sentenced to 30 months in prison for wearing a T-shirt.
Ibtissame “Betty” Lachgar, an atheist psychologist and co-founder of the Mouvement Alternatif pour les Libertés Individuelles (MALI), was arrested for posting a photo of herself wearing a T-shirt reading “Allah is lesbian.” She was put on trial for “insulting Islam.”
The sentence is especially alarming given Lachgar’s fragile health. She is battling cancer and requires urgent surgery in September. Prison conditions in Morocco are notoriously harsh, and her supporters fear she could die behind bars.
“This could be a death sentence for a courageous activist I have known for many years and who has spent her life bravely defending the rights of women, LGBTQ-plus people and nonbelievers in Morocco,” says FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor. “Betty’s only so-called crime is to express dissent — peacefully challenging religious dogma in a theocratic monarchy where blasphemy laws are used as weapons of repression.”
FFRF, which last week asked the State Department to intervene, is calling on its allies in the United States and international community to help Betty by:
- Publicly demanding her immediate release.
- Pressing Morocco to immediately release her and to drop blasphemy charges against her.
- Condemning Morocco’s criminalization of apostasy, blasphemy and same-sex relationships as violations of fundamental freedoms.
The Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain, which has led a “Free Betty” protest at the Moroccan Embassy in London, has resources, including a #Free Betty campaign with social media and petitions
FFRF notes that Morocco is violating the international human rights treaties it has signed guaranteeing freedom of conscience and expression. In 2020, Congress passed a resolution with overwhelming bipartisan support calling on the State Department to prioritize the repeal of blasphemy, heresy and apostasy laws worldwide.
“True religious liberty must include the right to reject religion, the right to criticize it and the right to live openly, whether as an atheist or advocate for LGBTQ rights, without fear of prosecution or prison,” adds FFRF Co-President Dan Barker. “Blasphemy is a victimless crime — but blasphemy laws create many innocent victims.”
FFRF warns that Lachgar’s health and life now hang in the balance unless the international community acts.
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a U.S.-based nonprofit dedicated to promoting the constitutional principle of separation between state and church and educating the public on matters of nontheism. With more than 42,000 members, FFRF advocates for freethinkers’ rights across the globe. For more information, visit ffrf.org.
