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Rabat – The First Instance Court in Oued Zem, 96.7 kilometers away from Casablanca, sentenced on Monday a woman to two years in prison for insults against Islam.
Fatima Karim, who was initially summoned by the police for interrogation, was finally sentenced earlier this week for making sarcastic social media posts on the Quran and Prophet Muhammad, AFP reported.
The woman’s brother, Bouazza Karim, said that his sister intends to appeal the court’s verdict.
While she defended herself, citing freedom of expression as guaranteed by the Moroccan constitution, the woman also apologized to “anyone who felt offended” by the posts, claiming that she had no intention to undermine Islam.
Article 267-5 of Morocco’s Penal Code stipulates anyone undermining Islam, the monarchial regime, or the territorial integrity of Morocco is punishable by law.
Under the article, Moroccan courts can hand sentences ranging from six months to two years in prison in addition to fines between MAD 20,000 ($1,916) and MAD 200,000 ($19,163).
Known as a blogger among her followers, Karim describes herself as a secular person promoting the separation of religion and the state or political power.
In June 2021, a Moroccan court handed a sentence of three years and a half against a Moroccan woman who was also charged with making insults against Islam on Facebook. She had posted on the social media platform quranic verses in parodic praise of the consumption of alcohol.
The woman, who was arrested at the Casablanca airport upon her return from France, where she was studying law, also paid a fine of $6,000.
