Moroccan rapper Mehdi El Youbi detained in Casablanca
Supporters say the politically outspoken artist was taken into custody after police questioning and is due before a prosecutor Wednesday.
By James Whitfield · Staff Writer
3 min read
Moroccan rapper, artist and filmmaker Mehdi El Youbi has been detained in Casablanca after questioning by Morocco’s National Brigade of Judicial Police, according to a statement from his friends and supporters. The case matters beyond the music scene because supporters and rights voices cited by Al Jazeera link it to pressure on public criticism in Morocco.
El Youbi, who performs as Mehdi Black Wind, was taken into custody Monday night, the supporters’ statement said. His family was told at about 9 p.m. that he had been placed in police custody and was expected to appear before the public prosecutor on Wednesday, according to the statement.
The supporters said the arrest was believed to be connected to El Youbi’s art and social media activity. Al Jazeera reported that the detention came days after El Youbi was blocked from returning to France, where he has lived since 2017.
A politically direct rapper
El Youbi, born in 1992, became known in Morocco and North Africa during the early 2010s, when Arab Spring uprisings were reshaping politics across the region, Al Jazeera reported. His work drew attention for politically engaged lyrics influenced by US hip-hop, according to the report.
In an interview with the French music magazine Mosaique Magazine in December 2025, El Youbi said he feared arrest or being prevented from entering the country when he returned home. He also said artists and activists who take public risks live between courage and fear.
Omar Radi, a Moroccan investigative journalist and human rights activist, told Al Jazeera that El Youbi was “the most outspoken and politically direct Moroccan rapper.” Radi said he saw a broader effort to curb criticism of the government and police methods across civil society, journalism, artistic circles and football supporters.
Algerian journalist Maher Mezahi described El Youbi on X as the leading rapper in North Africa, Al Jazeera reported.
Concerns over wider arrests
El Youbi’s detention followed the arrest a day earlier of Moroccan journalist Ali Lmrabet, according to Al Jazeera. The Committee to Protect Journalists condemned Lmrabet’s arrest, which it said concerned alleged false information.
Al Jazeera also linked the case to the sentencing two weeks earlier of Zineb Kharroubi, a prominent figure in the Gen Z 212 activist movement. Le Monde reported that Kharroubi received a six-month suspended prison sentence after being convicted of incitement to commit crimes or offences by electronic means.
A supporter of El Youbi told Al Jazeera the cases reflected intensified repression tied to the Gen Z movement. The youth-led protest movement emerged in Morocco last year with demands for better health services and education reforms, according to Al Jazeera.
El Youbi is due to appear before the public prosecutor on Wednesday morning, his supporters said. They said they were worried he could appear without legal representation because lawyers in Morocco are on strike.
This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.