Trial Begins for 24 Suspects in Moroccan Tourist Murders

24 defendants will appear before the investigating judge, to answer the charges of "apology for terrorism", "attack on the life of persons with premeditation", and "constitution of a terrorist gang".

The 3 main perpetrators, accompanied by their 21 accomplices, all Moroccans except for a Spanish-Swiss living in Morocco and suspected of being "imbued with extremist ideology", will be brought before the criminal chamber of the Court of Appeal of Salé, on May 2 next.

The facts date back to Monday, December 17, when the inhabitants of the village of Imlil, in the Marrakech region, witnessed an unprecedented tragedy in Morocco since 2011. Two young Scandinavian students were brutally murdered in an isolated site in the High Atlas massif.

In a video posted on social media, and recorded a week before the criminal act was carried out, the four accused pledged allegiance to the Islamic State.

Since then, the police have arrested the four alleged perpetrators and about twenty people in this case, described as terrorist by the Moroccan authorities.