A Moroccan court on Wednesday, September 3, sentenced feminist activist Ibtissame Lachgar to 30 months behind bars for "offending Islam", her lawyer told AFP, adding that the defense plans to appeal.
Lachgar, a 50-year-old clinical psychologist known for her rights activism, was arrested last month after posting online a picture of herself wearing a T-shirt with the word "Allah" in Arabic followed by "is lesbian".
The court in Rabat sentenced her to 30 months in prison and imposed a fine of 50,000 dirhams ($5,500), said defense lawyer Mohamed Khattab. Khattab said the defense team planned to appeal the decision.
Outside the courtroom, friends and family of Lachgar began weeping as the verdict was announced, an AFP correspondent said. Hakim Sikouk, president of the Moroccan Association for Human Rights, called the sentence "shocking" and an "attack" on freedom of expression.
During an earlier hearing, Lachgar told a judge that the message on her T-shirt was a "feminist slogan which has existed for years, against sexist ideologies and violence against women... and has no connection to the Islamic faith".