Madar (Rabat) - A Moroccan court on Friday, October 30, 2026, sentenced cartoonist Yasser Mounbir, 22, to four years in prison and a 40,000-dirham fine for insulting the king and public officials, over caricatures of King Mohammed VI he posted on Instagram, RFI reported on Monday, November 2.
According to RFI, Mounbir, a figure of Morocco's graffiti scene, was arrested in June 2026 and had spent more than five months in pre-trial detention in a Casablanca prison after posting drawings of the monarch that authorities deemed offensive. His account has about ten thousand followers.
His lawyer announced an appeal on Sunday. His lawyers Farouk Mehdaoui and Soujar Sara called the sentence "disproportionate" and "a serious attack on creative freedom," arguing that artistic expression cannot justify a prison term simply because it disturbs or shocks.
RFI noted that Article 179 of Morocco's penal code punishes offence to the sovereign with six months to two years in prison. The Moroccan Association for Human Rights has demanded his release in the name of free speech, and a petition signed this summer by several hundred people, including journalists, intellectuals and opposition figures, also called for him to be freed.
