Outspoken Moroccan rapper Mehdi El Youbi arrested in Casablanca

Activists say Moroccan authorities are intensifying repression of critical voices and the Gen Z protest movement.Politically outspoken Moroccan artist, rapper, and filmmaker Mehdi El Youbi has been arrested in Casablanca, days after being barred from returning to France, where he has been based since 2017.El Youbi, better known by his stage name Mehdi Black Wind, was detained on Monday night after being questioned by Morocco’s National Brigade of Judicial Police in Casablanca, according to a statement from a group of his friends and supporters.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Jailed Senegal fans deny wrongdoing in AFCON final chaos in Moroccolist 2 of 4Morocco king pardons jailed Senegal football fans from AFCON finallist 3 of 4‘Love you, from Gaza’: Fans, athletes hail Yamal’s Palestine flag wavelist 4 of 4The Arab Spring hasn’t ended, and Arab regimes know itend of list“After a day of questioning, his family were informed at around 9pm that he had been taken into police custody and was due to appear before the public prosecutor on Wednesday”, the statement said. “According to the latest information, his arrest is believed to be linked to his artistic views and posts on social media.”El Youbi, born in 1992, is widely known in Morocco and across North Africa for his rap songs heavily influenced by US hip-hop. He rose to prominence in the early 2010s, at the same time as the Arab Spring, with songs that caught the attention of the authorities for their politically engaged lyrics.“When I return home, I’m afraid of being arrested or banned from the country,” El Youbi told French music magazine Mosaique Magazine in December 2025. “Many people try to depoliticise art or sport, but I believe that every committed artist, every activist, or anyone who takes risks lives between boldness and fear.”El Youbi is “the best rapper in North Africa and it’s not close”, Algerian journalist Maher Mezahi said 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]Omar Radi, a Moroccan investigative journalist and human rights activist who was previously jailed in Morocco for criticising a judge, told Al Jazeera that El Youbi is “the most outspoken and politically direct Moroccan rapper”.