Imprisoned, Charged for 'Insulting Royalty'
"Through rap, I'll stage a coup d'Étatwith my spiteful homies, 'cause their lives are all stormy weather... Go ahead, take me -- blindfold my eyes, reopen Tazmamart, and throw me in."
With these biting lyrics, 34-year-old Moroccan rap star Mehdi Lyoubi, known as Mehdi Black Wind, invoked the infamous Tazmamart prison, where those accused of plotting against the monarchy were jailed in atrocious conditions from the mid-1970s through the early 1990s.
When a Moroccan judge ordered the detention of Lyoubi on July 15, he didn't send him to Tazmamart. Instead, he remanded him to Oukacha prison in Casablanca, pending prosecution for offending the king or crown prince - an offense punishable by up to four years in prison - according to his lawyer.
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Lyoubi's arrest followed that of Ali Lmrabet, a prominent Moroccan journalist living abroad who was arrested at Tangier airport on July 12. Lmrabet, who said he was questioned about criticism of top-level officials in his podcast, was held in police custody for three days before being released following international outcry.
Police stopped Lyoubi at Rabat airport on July 10 while he was waiting to embark to Marseille, France, where he resides. Telling him he was banned from leaving, police ordered him to report to the station in his hometown of Salé, his wife said. At the police station on July 11, he received a summons from the National Brigade of the Judiciary Police (BNPJ), a unit that handles terrorism cases and, at times, critical journalists.
Lyoubi was held for interrogation at BNPJ headquarters in Casablanca on Monday, July 13, before appearing before a prosecutor that Wednesday and later in court. A judge ordered him remanded to custody pending trial.
His next hearing is scheduled for July 22.
Lyoubi rose to prominence in the wake of the 2011 regional uprising known as the Arab Spring. He voiced support in 2025 for Morocco's Gen Z protesters, who, after contrasting lavish government spending on sports infrastructure with poor education and health infrastructure, were met with police violence that left three dead and hundreds arrested.
Lyoubi's rap, like Lmrabet's journalism, is critical and hard-hitting. But criticism of government officials is protected under international law. Lyoubi should be released immediately and all charges against him should be dropped.
Ahmed Benchemsi, Advocacy and Communications Director, Middle East and North Africa Division
