Support committee raises alarm over Ibtissame Lachgar's health in prison, calls for 'urgent surgery'

The support committee for Ibtissame Lachgar has raised concerns about her “declining health seven months into her detention.”

In a statement, the committee said Lachgar, arrested in August 2025 after sparking an uproar for posting online a photo of herself wearing a T-shirt with the word “Allah” in Arabic followed by “is lesbian”, is now living with a fully dislocated prosthesis and a fractured elbow sustained during detention, leaving her left upper limb completely nonfunctional.

The committee noted that surgery had been scheduled for September 2025, shortly after her arrest.

Lachgar’s support committee said that as of March 8, 2026, she has mostly received general medical care, even though her condition was well documented in earlier reports.

Rare specialized trauma consultations at Moulay Youssef Hospital, it added, confirmed her situation, but her treatment has reportedly been limited to painkillers such as paracetamol.

The committee stressed that Lachgar’s condition requires urgent surgical intervention, warning that “each day without proper treatment increases the risk of serious and irreversible complications, including potential amputation.”

Surgery would also require specialized postoperative care and long-term rehabilitation that cannot be provided within the prison setting, according to the statement.

The committee described her situation as “a pressing humanitarian concern,” stating that immediate access to specialized medical care in an appropriate setting is the only way to meet her health needs and ensure her dignity.

The Rabat Court of First Instance previously sentenced Lachgar to two and a half years in prison and a fine of about MAD 50,000 for “insulting the divine self.”

Despite Lachgar’s lawyers previously requesting her release on medical grounds, citing her need for treatment, the court rejected the petition.