Rabat – Moroccan rapper and filmmaker Mehdi Black Wind, whose real name is El Mahdi Lyoubi, has been granted provisional release after spending three weeks in detention while facing charges of “offending state institutions.”
A Moroccan court approved the request for provisional release today, according to the artist’s lawyers.
Although he remained in custody earlier in the day, his legal team confirmed that he is expected to be released.
Lyoubi has been under investigation since July after authorities stopped him at Rabat-Sale Airport as he was preparing to board a flight to France, where he has lived for nearly a decade. He was informed that he was prohibited from leaving Morocco.
Three days later, he was summoned by the judicial police in Casablanca and subsequently placed in pretrial detention.
He is being prosecuted under Article 179 of the Moroccan Penal Code, which criminalizes defamation, insults, or offenses against the King.
His lawyer, Sara Soujar, told AFP that the judge ruled on the request for provisional release as soon as the hearing began.
She also said that, as of Friday, no travel ban had been imposed on the artist, though it remains unclear whether he will return to France.
The next hearing in Lyoubi’s trial is scheduled for October 2.
Outside the Casablanca Court of First Instance, dozens of supporters gathered to demand his release, holding signs reading “Free Mehdi.”
Images shared by his support committee showed demonstrators calling for an end to his detention.
The case has renewed debate over the use of Morocco’s Penal Code in cases involving activists, artists, and social media users.
Human rights organizations have repeatedly urged authorities to rely instead on the country’s Press Code, which has not included prison sentences for press-related offenses since reforms introduced in 2016.
