Rabat – The Club of Moroccan Lawyers announced that it will take legal action against a French rapper known by the stage name Booba.
The rapper had released two songs containing offensive language to describe Moroccan women.
According to a tweet from President of the Club of Moroccan Lawyers Mourad Elajouti, the club decided to file a complaint against Yaffa Elie Thitia, who goes by Booba, for defamation and insults against Moroccan women.
1/5 Le Club des Avocats au Maroc a décidé de porter plainte contre M. Yaffa Elie Thitia Alias Booba pour diffamation et injures portées contre les femmes marocaines.
— Mourad Elajouti (@Elajouti) April 29, 2023
In a Twitter thread, Elajouti wrote: “We have received hundreds of letters and messages asking us to act, and after studying the elements sent to us, the remarks made in several of his [Booba’s] songs represent an offense to the feelings and dignity of the Maghreb woman in general.”
He further added that the recent posting of the singer’s visit to a private aviation lounge in Casablanca is “yet another provocation to the Moroccan people, especially since he has not expressed neither regret nor apology in relation to the remarks defamatory language used in his songs.”
The Moroccan lawyer goes on to explain that under Moroccan law the rapper could be banned from entering Moroccan soil following his actions.
“The provisions of article 4 of law 02-03 relating to the entry and stay of foreigners, access to Moroccan territory may be refused to any foreigner whose presence would constitute a threat to order.”
The news of the lawsuit comes almost two months after the Justice and Development Party (PJD) directed a written question to the Minister of Youth, Culture, and Communication Mehdi Bensaid, calling on him to cancel an upcoming concert of the rapper.
Activists accuse the rapper of using misogynistic and sexist language that directly targets Moroccan women.
Two of Booba’s songs have especially sparked controversy. In the songs, the rapper sings: “I only go to chicha for Arabs,” and “Little Moroccan f***s Berlusconi.”
“The rapper in question was famous for raising controversy in many cases, and Instagram banned his account by decision of the Judicial Court in Marseille in 2022, after a complaint related to sexual harassment,” Al-Fathaoui wrote in her note.
Read Also: PJD Calls on Morocco’s Culture Minister To Cancel Concert of Misogynist French Rapper
