Morocco rapper Mehdi Black Wind granted bail

A Moroccan court granted rapper Mehdi Black Wind’s bail request on Friday after he spent almost three weeks in jail on accusations of undermining institutions, one of his lawyers said.

The 34-year-old artist, whose real name is El Mahdi Lyoubi, is known in artistic circles for lyrics criticising Moroccan society and inequality.

Lyoubi was stopped at an airport on July 10 before boarding a flight to France, where he lives, and was told he could not leave Morocco. He was summoned by judicial police three days later in Casablanca and has been detained since under a Moroccan penal code provision punishing “defamation, insult or offense against the person of the king.”

Sara Soujar, one of his attorneys in Morocco, said a judge ruled in favour of provisional release. As of Friday afternoon, Lyoubi was still in custody, but Soujar said “he’s going to get out.”

Soujar said the defence had not been informed of any measures barring Lyoubi from leaving the country. His next hearing is scheduled for October 2.

Several dozen people gathered outside the court in Casablanca on Friday to call for his release, with some holding “Free Mehdi” signs, according to images shared by his support committee.