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Rabat – Ilyas El-Malki, a popular Moroccan YouTuber and streamer, has been arrested following a lawsuit filed by a group of Amazigh activists over his racist comments directed at the Amazigh community during a recent livestream.
This lawsuit, accusing the popular streamer of inciting hate speech, has stirred intense public outcry after his remarks about the Amazigh community, widely viewed by Moroccan youth, spread online.
“An Amazigh remains just an Amazigh, with a small and meager brain,” the Youtuber said on his livestream, among other comments.
El-Malki, who has 1.6 million Instagram followers, was recently chosen to captain Morocco’s team in the Kings League World Cup. However, after a video of his comments went viral, it drew sharply divided responses.
Many Moroccans condemned his remarks as anti-Amazigh hate speech, while others defended them as attempts at dark humor.
One X user posted, “By insulting us, they think they will silence us. But it’s quite the opposite. We will continue to fight this fight, proudly waving our flag (Amazigh flag), because we are the true Moroccans.”
Rachid Bouhaddouz, an Amazigh political and cultural activist and one of the plaintiffs, warned against dismissing El-Malki’s comments as mere dark humor.
“We must not trivialize such statements or dismiss them as dark humor. Normalizing this could lead to serious consequences,” Bouhaddouz told Radio France International (RFI). “Morocco is a united country and people. Cultural or regional differences cannot be allowed to disrupt our cohesion and weaken our sense of belonging.”
The plaintiffs’ lawyer, Mohamed Almou, expressed additional concern about the potential impact of El-Malki’s remarks on his young audience. “The defendant has a large following,” Almou told RFI.
“Given the nature of his content, many of his followers are young people, including teenagers, who may be influenced by this hateful, racist rhetoric and tempted to imitate it,” the lawyer added.
Meanwhile, El-Malki’s criminal background has resurfaced under public scrutiny. Earlier this year, he was convicted of assault with a deadly weapon as well as theft. He served three months in prison before being released in August.
