Mehdi El Youbi, a politically outspoken Moroccan artist, rapper, and filmmaker known by his stage name Mehdi Black Wind, has been arrested in Casablanca. The arrest comes days after he was barred from returning to France, where he has been based since 2017.
According to a statement from a group of his friends and supporters, El Youbi was detained on Monday night after being questioned by Morocco’s National Brigade of Judicial Police in Casablanca. “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.”
Born in 1992, El Youbi 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, alongside the Arab Spring, with songs that caught the attention of 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.”
Algerian journalist Maher Mezahi called El Youbi “the best rapper in North Africa and it’s not close.” Moroccan investigative journalist and human rights activist Omar Radi told Al Jazeera that El Youbi is “the most outspoken and politically direct Moroccan rapper.”
“There is a deliberate attempt to stamp out any possibility of criticism of the government or police methods, whether within civil society and the press, or in artistic circles or amongst football supporters,” Radi said.
El Youbi’s detention comes a day after the arrest of Moroccan journalist Ali Lmrabet, which was condemned by the Committee to Protect Journalists, and two weeks after Zineb Kharroubi, a leading figure in the Gen Z 212 activist movement, was given a six-month suspended prison sentence for “incitement to commit crimes or offences by electronic means.”
A supporter of El Youbi said these developments reflect “intensified repression linked to the Gen Z movement,” referring to the youth-led protest movement that emerged last year in Morocco demanding better health services and education reforms.
El Youbi is due to appear before the public prosecutor on Wednesday morning. His supporters expressed concern that he may have to appear without a lawyer, as lawyers in Morocco are currently on strike.
Source: www.aljazeera.com