The prosecution at the Rabat Court of First Instance on Wednesday requested the rejection of a defense motion to grant provisional release to Moroccan activist Ibtissam Lachgar, who is being prosecuted on charges of “insulting the divine entity.”
Judges postponed the hearing to next week to rule on the request.
Lachgar’s legal team, argued that their client’s health condition justifies her immediate release.
They said the activist, who has linked God to homosexuality in her statements, is suffering from cancer and requires both medical and psychological care.
The defense also revealed that Lachgar needs urgent surgery in September on her left hand, which is partly prosthetic. Her doctor warned that failure to undergo the operation could lead to amputation.
The lawyers stressed that Lachgar has been placed in solitary confinement, barred from contact with other inmates, a measure they argued has serious psychological consequences given her illness.
They insisted that all legal guarantees for provisional release are met, citing the presumption of innocence and the absence of risk from her alleged acts.
During Wednesday’s hearing, Lachgar appeared in visibly poor health, with signs of injury to her left hand, though she exchanged smiles and gestures of defiance with Moroccan and foreign activists present in court to support her.
The defense also questioned the prison administration’s decision to impose solitary confinement, noting that no clear justification has been provided.
They reiterated that denying her release under such conditions would further endanger her health and contravene basic rights.
The court will reconvene next week to deliberate on the request for Lachgar’s temporary release as proceedings in the high-profile case continue.
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