- Seven LGTBIQ+ people were sentenced to eight months in prison in Morocco, and an eighth to three months of conditional jail, following a neighborhood attack in Fez.
- The attack occurred on August 19 in the Lirac neighborhood: insults, threats, and stones against a house where a party was being held.
- All Out demands legal assistance to appeal to the Court of Appeals, and TGEU confirms that the information comes from judicial documents.
Seven LGTBIQ+ people sentenced in Morocco to eight months in prison: this is the outcome of the aggression committed by a group of neighbors on August 19 against a house in Fez where a party was being held. After police intervention, ten people were arrested. The organization All Out denounced the sentences, as published by Público on October 17, 2026.
What happened in Fez on August 19?
On August 19, a group of neighbors attacked with insults, threats, and stones the LGTBIQ+ people who were in a house in the Lirac neighborhood, in Fez. According to Público, the victims reported a beating while celebrating a party in the property.
The people who were in the house called the Police for protection, but the agents arrested ten LGTBIQ+ people who were in the property. The first to publicly denounce what happened on social media was the Moroccan writer and filmmaker residing in France Abdellah Taia.
The Moroccan magazine TelQuel reported on August 27 that among those arrested, there were trans people, and that several of them were then awaiting a hearing scheduled for September 7. That outlet also reported a statement from support groups under the slogan #StopHomo/Transphobia, which stated that what happened in the neighborhood “is neither an isolated case nor an exceptional event.”
What sentences have they been given?
Seven of the arrested individuals were sentenced to eight months in prison and an eighth received a sentence of three months of conditional jail. This was denounced by the international organization All Out, which claims that the convicted individuals did not have effective defense during the trial.
TGEU, the European organization defending the rights of trans people, confirmed that the information about the sentences comes from judicial documents. According to Público, the media had not reported on these sentences until the organizations’ denunciation.
What do All Out and TGEU demand?
All Out demands legal assistance so that the convicted individuals can appeal to the Court of Appeals. The organization has also launched a petition to pressure the Moroccan authorities before the appeal hearing.
TGEU, for its part, has supported the veracity of the case with judicial documentation. Its intervention lends weight to a denunciation that would otherwise have gone unnoticed outside Morocco.
Is it legal to be LGTBIQ+ in Morocco?
No: article 489 of the Moroccan Penal Code criminalizes consensual homosexual relations, with penalties of up to three years in prison and fines of up to 120 euros. That article was applied, for example, in the case of Beni Mellal (2016): after a video of two men in bed was circulated, some neighbors beat them and publicly displayed them. According to information cited by Público, the aggressors were released on bail, while the two men were prosecuted.
It is not the first time that homosexual individuals who report an assault end up imprisoned in Morocco, and arrests occur even in their own homes. Amnesty International states in its annual report on the country that LGBTI individuals continue to suffer arbitrary detention, harassment, and prosecution.
The case of Ibtissame “Betty” Lachgar
The feminist activist and defender of LGTBIQ+ rights Ibtissame “Betty” Lachgar was sentenced in 2025 by the First Instance Court of Rabat to two and a half years in prison for a post on X in which she appeared wearing a t-shirt with the slogan “Allah is lesbian” and critical comments about Islam. The prosecution accused her of offending Islam under the application of article 267-5 of the Penal Code, and the sentence was confirmed on appeal.
Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch argue that her imprisonment “violates freedom of expression” and demand her release. In September 2026, the OMCT and FIDH expressed concern for the deterioration of her health: Lachgar is a cancer survivor.
The support network from Spain
Part of the LGTBIQ+ activism directed at Morocco is organized from Spain. The association Kif-Kif, founded in 2004 in Spain by Samir Bergachi, a Moroccan resident in Madrid, directs more than 90% of its cultural, educational, and sexual education activities aimed at Morocco from here, and provides assistance to refugees and migrants in Spain. In 2010, Bergachi founded the digital magazine MITHLY (“gay” in Arabic), whose first issue was distributed clandestinely in Rabat.
Kif-Kif was born the same year that the Police arrested 42 homosexuals in Tetuán during a birthday party; some students were expelled from university and several young people from their homes. Within Morocco, the Akaliyat Association, which defends minorities, is still not legal, and some doctors refuse to treat homosexual individuals, who turn to professionals who collaborate with the organization.
Persecution also echoes at the border. TGEU has urged Spanish authorities to take urgent measures for trans individuals in Ceuta, where, according to Tayru Fadil, from its board of directors, they face “specific and serious risks”. We report it in Asylum for sexual orientation in Ceuta: requests are increasing.
Frequently asked questions
How many people were sentenced in the Fez case?
Seven LGTBIQ+ people were sentenced to eight months in prison and an eighth to three months of conditional jail. In total, the Police had arrested ten people.
Who has denounced the sentences?
The international organization All Out, with confirmation from TGEU, which asserts that the information comes from judicial documents.
Can the convicted individuals appeal?
Yes. All Out demands legal assistance to appeal to the Court of Appeals and collects signatures before the hearing.
What does article 489 of the Moroccan Penal Code punish?
It criminalizes consensual homosexual relations, with penalties of up to three years in prison and fines of up to 120 euros.
