Activists say Moroccan authorities are intensifying repression of vital voices and the Gen Z protest motion.
Printed On 14 Jul 2026
Politically outspoken Moroccan artist, rapper, and filmmaker Mehdi El Youbi has been arrested in Casablanca, days after being barred from returning to France, the place he has been based mostly since 2017.
El Youbi, higher recognized by his stage identify Mehdi Black Wind, was detained on Monday evening after being questioned by Morocco’s Nationwide Brigade of Judicial Police in Casablanca, in response to a press release from a gaggle of his mates and supporters.
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“After a day of questioning, his household have been knowledgeable at round 9pm that he had been taken into police custody and was because of seem earlier than the general public prosecutor on Wednesday”, the assertion mentioned. “Based on the newest info, his arrest is believed to be linked to his creative views and posts on social media.”
El Youbi, born in 1992, is broadly recognized in Morocco and throughout North Africa for his rap songs closely influenced by US hip-hop. He rose to prominence within the early 2010s, similtaneously the Arab Spring, with songs that caught the eye of the authorities for his or her politically engaged lyrics.
“After I return dwelling, I’m afraid of being arrested or banned from the nation,” El Youbi instructed French music journal Mosaique Journal in December 2025. “Many individuals attempt to depoliticise artwork or sport, however I consider that each dedicated artist, each activist, or anybody who takes dangers lives between boldness and concern.”
El Youbi is “the most effective rapper in North Africa and it’s not shut”, Algerian journalist Maher Mezahi mentioned on X.
![Mehdi El Youbi was arrested in Morocco, days after being barred from returning to Marseille, France, where he’s been based since 2017. [Courtesy of supporters of Mehdi El Youbi]](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/photomehdi3-1784059195.jpeg?w=770&resize=770%2C770&quality=80)
Omar Radi, a Moroccan investigative journalist and human rights activist who was beforehand jailed in Morocco for criticising a decide, instructed Al Jazeera that El Youbi is “probably the most outspoken and politically direct Moroccan rapper”.
“There’s a deliberate try and stamp out any risk of criticism of the federal government or police strategies, whether or not inside civil society and the press, or in creative circles or amongst soccer supporters,” Radi mentioned.
El Youbi’s detention comes a day after the arrest of Moroccan journalist Ali Lmrabet, which was condemned by the Committee to Defend Journalists, and two weeks after Zineb Kharroubi, a number one determine within the Gen Z 212 activist motion, was given a six-month suspended jail sentence after being discovered responsible of “incitement to commit crimes or offences by digital means”.
A supporter of El Youbi mentioned that these developments mirror “intensified repression linked to the Gen Z motion”, referring to the youth-led protest motion that emerged final yr in Morocco demanding higher well being companies and schooling reforms.
El Youbi is because of seem earlier than the general public prosecutor on Wednesday morning. His supporters mentioned they have been involved that he could have to look with no lawyer, as legal professionals in Morocco are presently on strike.
