Human Rights Watch on Thursday called for Moroccan authorities to exonerate activist Ibtissame Lachgar, who remains jailed after being sentenced to 30 months in prison for posting a photo of herself wearing a shirt reading “Allah is lesbian.”

Lachgar was arrested in August and convicted this month of “causing harm to Islam.” The Rabat First Instance Court sentenced her to 30 months in prison and ordered her to pay a fine of 50,000 Moroccan dirhams (approximately US$5,500 as of the time of writing). In its statement, HRW slammed the hefty sentence—which was at the stricter end of the sentencing guidelines—as “a huge blow to free speech in Morocco.”

The Lachgar case reflects broader systemic restrictions on free expression that have persisted in Morocco despite constitutional guarantees and a 2016 press law that nominally abolished prison sentences for press offenses. Prominent journalists and activists continue to face arrest and prosecution for their online activities, with authorities using the penal code to circumvent press protections through charges of “false news,” defamation, and undermining state security, according to Freedom House.

While King Mohammed VI granted royal pardons to several high-profile journalists in July 2024, independent journalists remain “under constant pressure,” and the country’s media diversity is largely a facade serving government interests.