Fears for sister jailed over 'Allah is lesbian' T-shirt

The family and friends of a woman jailed in Morocco over a T-shirt saying “Allah is lesbian” have expressed fears over the cancer survivor’s health in prison.

- TAZ ALI

Ibtissame “Betty” Lachgar, 50, a Moroccan feminist activist and psychologist, was sentenced to two and a half years in prison after she was convicted on blasphemy charges.

She was arrested on 10 August at her home in the capital Rabat after a picture circulated online showing her wearing the T-shirt, her sister Siham Lachgar told The Independent. She explained the shirt was inspired by the quote: “I saw God. She is black, communist, and lesbian”, attributed to the French feminist Anne-Marie Fauret.

Siham said her sister was diagnosed with Ewing’s sarcoma, a type of bone cancer, in her twenties. She has ongoing health issues, with a prosthesis replacing the bone in her upper left arm. Siham fears her sister may not have access to healthcare in prison, and that she needs urgent treatment for her prosthesis or risks having her arm amputated.

Describing the sentencing on Wednesday as a “shock and an injustice”, she said: “Not taking her health into consideration is simply inhumane.

“I’m very worried because she has no medical followup in Morocco - all of her doctors are in France - and she doesn't seem to have seen a doctor in prison.”