Morocco Terror Attack: Imlil Killers Face Appeal Court in High-Profile Case

More than a month after their conviction at first instance, the defendants in the Imlil tragedy are returning before the judge, this time for the appeal trial.

A few weeks earlier, on July 18, at the Criminal Court of First Instance near the Court of Appeal of Salé, Hespress recalls that the three main defendants, Abdessamad El Joud, head of the cell, Younes Ouziane, and Rachid Affati had been sentenced to death.

As for Abderrahmane Khayali, he was sentenced to life imprisonment, given his "indirect" involvement in the murder of the two victims.

The same source reports that the sentences imposed by the judge on the other 20 defendants range from 5 to 30 years in prison. Regarding the request of the civil party to order the State to pay compensation to the relatives of the two Danish victims, it was declared inadmissible.

However, the four main defendants are ordered to jointly pay two million dirhams to the victims’ families as compensation.

In this case, 24 defendants are being prosecuted, including a Swiss national of Spanish nationality and two imams. The victims, Louisa Vesterager Jespersen, a 24-year-old Danish student, and her friend, Maren Ueland, a 28-year-old Norwegian, were camping in the town of Imlil for a mountain hike before being murdered.