In Morocco, rapper and filmmaker El Mahdi Lyoubi, better known by his stage name "Mehdi Black Wind," has been detained since July 15 at the Oukacha prison in Casablanca. Charged with "outrage to a constitutional institution," he is set to appear before the city's court on Wednesday, July 22, where his lawyers are expected to request his provisional release.
On July 10, as he was preparing to return to Marseille after a family visit and scouting for his upcoming documentary, El Mahdi Lyoubi was prevented from boarding at the Rabat-Salé airport. According to a press release issued by his lawyers on July 20, a police officer informed him that he was subject to a travel ban, without providing specific reasons, and directed him to the Salé police station. This incident prompted an open letter the same day to Moroccan authorities from cultural institutions, professional associations, and figures from the artistic community.
Summoned on July 13 to the National Judicial Police Brigade in Casablanca, the musician and director was questioned throughout the day before being placed in police custody that evening. His family was only informally informed later that his arrest appeared to be related to social media posts, though no further details were provided. He was brought before the prosecutor and presented for an immediate hearing on July 15, but the specific charges against him were not disclosed at that time.
The judge of the Casablanca court postponed the hearing to July 22 to allow the artist to prepare his defense, as lawyers in Morocco have been on strike for a month, according to a source close to the case. Meanwhile, he has been held in provisional detention at Oukacha prison. As of now, his lawyers have not been able to meet with him or access the legal file, as stated in the open letter. The strike, which began in late June, aims to protest against a proposed law deemed by lawyers as undermining the independence of their profession, specifically law 66.23, according to the lawyers' statement.
Charges of "Outrage to a Constitutional Institution" and Context of Arrest
The Casablanca correctional court's prosecutor has initiated proceedings against the artist for "outrage to a constitutional institution," under Article 179 of the Moroccan Penal Code, as noted by Le Monde. This statute prescribes a penalty of six months to two years of imprisonment and a fine ranging from 20,000 to 200,000 dirhams (approximately €1,870 to €18,700) for anyone found guilty of defamation, insult, or invasion of the king's or heir apparent's privacy.
According to the rapper's counsel, there is a clear attempt to separate this case from those involving members or supporters of GenZ 212, against whom Article 179 has never been invoked. Born in 1992 in Salé, a neighboring city to Rabat, the artist has lived in Marseille since 2017. Educated at La Fémis in Paris, he has directed several short films, including the documentary "Marseille, 14 juillet," which was selected by the New Directors/New Films festival at MoMA in New York, the Sheffield DocFest, and the Thessaloniki Film Festival. He is currently working on his first feature-length documentary, a project supported in 2025 by the Arab Fund for Arts and Culture (AFAC).
On July 14, an article published on a Mediapart blog and signed by nearly 1,000 individuals, including actresses Adèle Haenel and Jeanne Balibar, directors Mathieu Amalric and Faouzi Bensaïdi, and novelist Fatima Daas, called for the immediate and unconditional release of the artist. The following day, the Moroccan Association for Human Rights (AMDH) also called for his release and for an end to the restrictive policies targeting critical voices, as stated in their statement.
On July 20, his lawyers announced they would travel to Casablanca "to provide [their] support" to their client and to their "colleagues in the Defense Committee in Morocco," according to their press release. That same day, an open letter signed by cultural institutions, professional associations, journalists, and figures from academia, literature, and the arts was sent to the director of the royal cabinet of the Kingdom of Morocco and several ministers, including Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch, Minister of Justice Abdellatif Ouahbi, Minister of the Interior Abdelouafi Laftit, Minister of Foreign Affairs Nasser Bourita, and President of the National Human Rights Council Amina Bouayach. The letter calls on the authorities to "ensure that El Mahdi Lyoubi is granted all the rights and procedural guarantees recognized by the Moroccan Constitution" and to "immediately and unconditionally release" the artist.
A Growing Movement for Freedom of Expression
Since the emergence of the GenZ 212 protest movement in the fall of 2025, Mehdi Black Wind has become the fourth Moroccan rapper to face legal action due to the content of their songs, as reported by Le Monde. Jawad Asradi, known as Pause Flow, was arrested in November 2025 and sentenced to three months in prison, a sentence confirmed on appeal in June 2026. Hamza Raid was apprehended in Casablanca and sentenced to six months of suspended imprisonment. In March 2026, Souhaib Qabli, then 20 years old, was sentenced to eight months in prison for "outrage to a constitutional institution" and spreading false news. In February 2026, film distributor Zineb Kharroubi received a six-month suspended sentence for incitement to commit crimes or offenses through electronic means.
These cases emerge in a context marked by the GenZ 212 movement, largely coordinated on social media, advocating for access to health care and education, combating corruption, and promoting freedom of expression, as highlighted in the open letter.
On July 19, former Moroccan investigative journalist Omar Radi presented the case as a further illustration of a tightening of restrictions on public freedoms in Morocco. He stated in an interview with ABC Radio National in Australia, "Morocco has shifted from being benchmarked alongside Algeria and Tunisia to an authoritarian benchmark, comparable to Turkey and Egypt." Radi, who was pardoned in 2024 after several years in prison, mentioned the detention of another pro-Palestine rapper and the prosecution of young people following the GenZ 212 movements, without providing verifiable figures.
"The freedoms of opinion, expression, and artistic creation, protected and guaranteed by the Constitution of the Kingdom of Morocco, are not privileges reserved for some but rather the corollary of a healthy democracy," emphasized El Mahdi Lyoubi's lawyers in their July 20 statement. The artist is scheduled to appear on Wednesday, July 22, before the Casablanca court.
As reported by information.tv5monde.com.
