Moroccan Activist Jailed for "Insulting Islam" Begins Hunger Strike

On Facebook, Fatima Karim’s family announced that the 39-year-old activist has been on a hunger strike for nearly two weeks to protest the judgment handed down in mid-September 2022. Prosecuted for having shared satirical publications in Arabic on her Facebook page, in which she "mocked" Quranic verses and hadiths of the prophet, the blogger had been sentenced to two years in prison and a fine of 50,000 dirhams on August 15 by the Court of First Instance of Oued Zem for "attack on the Islamic religion by electronic means."

She has been in prison since mid-July. During her appeal trial on September 6, she apologized to "anyone who felt offended" by her posts, adding that she had never had the "intention" to attack Islam. Her apologies were to no avail. The Court upheld the judgment handed down at first instance.