Coalition demands release of Morocco LGBT activist after 100 days in prison

Ibtissame Betty Lachgar was sentenced to 30 months for ‘Allah is lesbian’ T-Shirt

Morocco LGBT activist Ibtissame “Betty” Lachgar is suffering ailing health in prison. (Photo courtesy of Change.org)
Hundreds of organizations have joined the Free Betty Coalition, seeking the release of Moroccan activist Ibtissame “Betty” Lachgar from a three-year prison sentence.
Lachgar, 50, is a feminist/atheist/LGBT activist who was sentenced to 30 months in prison after she  was convicted of blasphemy for an online post that showed her wearing a T-shirt displaying the word “Allah” in Arabic, followed by the English words “is lesbian.”
Below is an edited Nov. 18 press release from the Coalition calling for Lachgar’s release, marking the 100th day of her imprisonment.
Hundreds of Organisations Join the Free Betty Coalition to Mark Ibtissame Betty Lachgar’s 100 Days of Imprisonment in Morocco
Goal: 100,000 signatures to Free Betty
Today marks 100 days since Moroccan feminist and human rights defender Ibtissame Betty Lachgar was imprisoned in Rabat, Morocco for posting a photograph of herself wearing an “Allah is Lesbian” T-shirt. Her sentence of 30 months stems solely from an act of peaceful expression defending women’s and LGBT rights made outside Morocco.
To mark the 100 days of imprisonment, hundreds of organisations, representing hundreds of thousands of members from around the world have joined the Free Betty Coalition condemning her conviction and calling for her immediate and unconditional release, humane conditions of detention, access to specialised medical treatment, and the repeal of laws restricting freedom of expression.
As a bone cancer survivor, Betty requires urgent treatment and surgery for her arm and prosthesis, otherwise she risks losing it. Her left elbow is completely dislocated now and she is in constant pain. She remains in isolation in a cold cell with no mattress or pillows, being punished for daring to think freely.
“Today marks 100 days that my sister, Ibtissame Betty Lachgar, has been imprisoned for thinking, speaking, and living freely in pursuit of a fairer world. One hundred days of isolation, pain, and injustice. Her health is deteriorating. She is exhausted and has lost significant weight. This punishment is not about what she has done, but about who she is and what she represents. In Morocco in 2025, thinking differently can still cost you your freedom. It is not my sister who is on trial. It is freedom itself,” says Siham Lachgar.
… [H]elp us reach 100,000 signatures on the petition to free Betty. [As of yesterday, the Allout.org petition had 5,417 signatures and the Change.org petition had 6,456.] Every signature strengthens the call for her release and increases pressure to end her mistreatment.
Betty’s case is a symbol of the wider struggle for freedom of conscience, bodily autonomy, and the right to challenge patriarchal norms without fear of reprisal.
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.
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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 [Editor: Article 267-5 criminalizes actions that offend Islam, the monarchy, or territorial integrity] 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
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
Ex-Muslims 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.