The Freedom From Religion Foundation is calling on the State Department to take urgent action in the case of a Moroccan feminist and human rights activist who faces up to five years in prison.
In a letter sent Wednesday, Aug. 27, to the U.S. Office of International Religious Freedom Director Daniel Nadel, FFRF urged the State Department entity to press Morocco to immediately release Ibtissame “Betty” Lachgar, drop blasphemy charges against her, and repeal its repressive blasphemy and apostasy laws. Lachgar, who is battling cancer and is scheduled to undergo urgent surgery in September, is currently being held in harsh prison conditions that endanger her health, with her trial scheduled for next week. Her lawyers are requesting her temporary release.
Lachgar, an atheist who works as a psychologist, was arrested after posting a photo of herself wearing a T-shirt that reads “Allah is lesbian.” She is accused of “insulting Islam,” while those who have threatened her with rape and death online remain free.
“This stark double standard highlights the systemic discrimination, persecution and violence faced by dissidents in Morocco under the guise of ‘protecting religion,’” FFRF Co-President Dan Barker and Annie Laurie Gaylor have written to the State Department.
“We’ve known Betty for at least a decade,” Gaylor adds. “She is utterly courageous in her campaign to secularize Morocco, and it is frightening to see her endangered simply for speculating harmlessly about the love life of deities.”
FFRF stressed that blasphemy laws are relics of the Dark Ages that violate basic human rights of free speech and freedom of conscience. Morocco is a signatory to international human rights treaties that guarantee these freedoms. FFRF reminds the Office of International Freedom that a resolution calling on the State Department to prioritize the global repeal of blasphemy, heresy and apostasy laws passed with overwhelming bipartisan support in 2020.
“True religious freedom by definition must include the right to dissent,” the letter notes. “No one should ever face government-imposed penalties for speaking for or against a religion, a sect, dogma or religious imagery.”
The letter calls on the Office of International Religious Freedom to:
- Publicly call for the immediate release of Ibtissame “Betty” Lachgar.
- Press the Moroccan government to drop all blasphemy charges against her.
- Condemn Morocco’s criminalization of apostasy, blasphemy and same-sex relationships under its penal code as violations of fundamental freedoms.
- Place Morocco under greater scrutiny until it repeals laws that punish individuals for exercising freedom of conscience and expression.
“As FFRF has long pointed out, blasphemy is a victimless crime — but blasphemy laws create many innocent victims,” FFRF’s letter states.
Lachgar is a co-founder of the Mouvement Alternatif pour les Libertés Individuelles (MALI) and has long campaigned for women, LGBTQ+ people, youth and nonbelievers in Morocco. Her trial is scheduled to continue next week.
“By taking a strong and public stand, your office can help save the life and liberty of a courageous activist while reaffirming the United States’ commitment to religious freedom for all,” FFRF concludes.
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.
