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Africa North

Trio sentenced to death for beheading backpackers in ISIS-inspired slayings

2019-07-19

Just DO IT [NY Post] Three jihadists were sentenced to death in Morocco for butchering two female Scandinavian backpackers in an ISIS-inspired execution. Ringleader Abdessamad Ejjoud, ...a street vendor and ‘underground imam’ with jihadi ambitions who lived near Marrakech, led the hunt for killable foreign tourists around the village of Imlil in the Atlas Mountains. He and his friends are the kind of self-actualized jihadis both Al Qaeda and ISIS have been seeking for years. The wonder, honestly, is that this kind of thing hasn’t been happening weekly... Younes Ouaziyad and Rachid Afatti were convicted of terror charges Thursday in the trial over the grisly slaughterings back in December. ...Mr. Ouaziyad has been identified as a carpenter, which would make Mr. Afatti either the plumber or the other street vendor, while Abderrahim Khayali, the fourth plotter who walked away before the kill, will be whatever is left. The miscreants were quickly scooped up following the murders because one of the group left his ID behind, and the clever lads were recorded on CCTV... Maren Ueland, ...all the articles on the subject in our archives mention the murdered girls, so this link is an easy way to find them... 28, and Louisa Vesterager Jespersen, 24, were fatally wounded Dec. 17 in a tent on a Christmas camping trip near Mount Toubkal, one of Morocco's highest peaks. Prosecutors allege that Ejjoud, 25, and Ouaziyad, 27, beheaded the hikers while Afatti, 33, recorded the slayings on his phone. All three men pledged allegiance to ISIS in a video before the murders. The trio was sentenced along with 20 other accomplices who received jail terms ranging from five to 30 years. At least three of the twenty are reportedly known jihadi wolves. Kevin P., not mentioned here by name, but likely one of the 20 other convicted accomplices, is a Swiss-Spaniard convert to Islam accused of teaching some of the suspects social media skills and archery, and of recruiting Moroccans and sub-Saharan Africans for jihad. The Local - Denmark adds: The defence team argued there were "mitigating circumstances on account of their precarious social conditions and psychological disequilibrium". Most poor people — or rich people, for that matter — do not go looking for innocents to murder. So their precarious social condition is no excuse. If, on the other hand, psychological disequilibrium is meant to say they are not sane, then clearly they need to be locked up until they can be brought to sanity, as they are a danger to all in the vicinity. Coming from modest backgrounds, with a "very low" level of education, the defendants lived for the most part in low-income areas of Marrakesh. Jespersen's lawyers have accused authorities of having failed to monitor the activities of some of the suspects before the murders.

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Africa North

Morocco prosecutor seeks death sentences in Scandinavian women murder

2019-06-28

[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] A Moroccan prosecutor on Thursday demanded the death sentence ...the barbaric practice of sentencing a murderer to be punished for as long as his/her/its victim is dead... for three suspects in the murder of two female Scandinavian tourists in the Atlas mountains in December. Louisa Vesterager Jespersen, 24, from Denmark, and Maren Ueland, 28, from Norway, were found dead on Dec. 17 near the Moroccan village of Imlil, a popular hiking and trekking destination. The three men had pledged allegiance to the ISIS in a video made three days before the murder. Authorities described them after their arrest as "lone wolves" who had not coordinated the killings with ISIS. Last month in a court hearing in Sale near Rabat, two of the suspects, Abdessamad Ejjoud and Youness Ouziyad, admitted to attacking and decapitating the two women, who were staying overnight in a tent in the mountains. A third suspect, Rachid Afatti, said he filmed the killing. Ejjoud said the video of the murder was shared with other ISIS sympathizers. The prosecutor called for life in prison for a fourth suspect who left the group on the day the murder took place. The prosecutor also demanded prison sentences ranging from 10 to 30 years for 20 other people, who were arrested for links to the main suspects. The 20 face charges including forming a criminal gang to commit terrorist acts, encouraging terrorism, and undermining public order.

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Africa North

Morocco sentences Swiss man to 10 years in jail for ‘terrorism’

2019-04-13

[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] A Moroccan court has sentenced a Swiss citizen tossed in the clink Drop the rosco, Muggsy, or you're one with the ages! in connection with the murder of two Scandinavian hikers to 10 years in prison on terrorism charges, his lawyer said Friday. Kahlil Idriss said the man, identified only as Nicolas P., 33, was convicted on Thursday in the city of Sale, near Rabat, in a case unrelated to the double murder. A dual Swiss-Spanish citizen was among more than 20 people arrested after Danish student Louisa Vesterager Jespersen, 24, and 28-year-old Norwegian Maren Ueland were found beheaded on December 17 in the High Atlas mountains south of Marrakesh. Nicolas P. was arrested in January for having had contact with the Swiss-Spanish national as well as compatriots with ties to Syria, Idriss said. He was found guilty of "forming a terrorist group". The lawyer said he has filed an appeal on the basis that his client had signed a police report in Arabic without having read it. So he's guilty of Felony Stupidity as well The accused told the court he had been paid by Switzerland ...home of the Helvetians, famous for cheese, watches, yodeling, and William Tell... ’s secret services for making contact with Swiss terror suspects. Moroccan authorities allege the four main suspects in the hikers’ murders were sympathizers of the ISIS group but not in direct contact with ISIS members in Iraq or Syria. The Jerusalem Post adds: The 33-year-old man sentenced on Thursday was identified by Moroccan media only as Nicolas P. Media said he also holds British citizenship. Arrested on Dec. 29 in Marrakech, he was tried on charges of "forming a gang to plot and commit terrorist acts aiming at seriously undermining state security, intentionally helping the perpetrators of terrorist acts, training people to join terrorist organizations and apologia for terrorism," MAP said. The first instance verdict, which will likely be followed by an appeal, was separate from the case of a Swiss-Spanish national, identified by media as Kevin P. His lawyer, Saad Salhi, told Rooters his trial, as part of a group of 25 other suspects in the double murder, had not begun yet. Four main suspects pledged allegiance to Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... in a video made three days before the tourists’ bodies were found. Authorities described them after they were placed in durance vile Book 'im, Mahmoud! as "lone wolves" who had not coordinated the killings with Islamic State.

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Africa North

Morocco: 15 suspects face judge over Scandinavian hiker murders

2018-12-31

[Al Jazeera] Fifteen people suspected of links to the murder of two Scandinavian women in the Atlas Mountains have appeared before a judge in Morocco. The attorney general's office in Rabat said in a statement on Sunday that the prosecution requested the investigation of the suspects for "setting up a gang to prepare and commit terrorist acts, premeditated attacks on life and advocating for terrorism". The statement said seven other detainees would be referred to the prosecution in the coming days. It was unclear whether the suspects, who were brought to the Court of First Instance in Sale, near Rabat, in a convoy of four police vans amid tight security, included a Swiss-Spanish man placed in durance vile ... anything you say can and will be used against you, whether you say it or not... in Marrakech on Saturday. The two students - Louisa Vesterager Jespersen, 24, of Denmark, and Maren Ueland, 28, of Norway - were found beheaded on December 17 near the village of Imlil, on a route to Toubkal, North Africa's highest peak and a popular hiking and trekking destination. 'TERRORIST' ACT Moroccan authorities have arrested about 20 people over their alleged links to the double murder, labelled a "terrorist" act by Rabat. Among those arrested was the Swiss-Spanish man living in Morocco who allegedly had links to some of the suspects, teaching them social media skills and archery. He subscribed to "extremist ideology", according to Morocco's central office for judicial investigations. It said the man was also suspected of involvement in recruiting Moroccans and sub-Saharan Africans for "terrorist schemes" targeted at "foreign interests and security forces". The four main suspects were arrested in Marrakesh and belonged to a cell inspired by the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS, also known as ISIS) gang, Morocco's counterterrorism chief Abdelhak Khiam told AFP news agency. However, there's more than one way to skin a cat... none of the four had contact with ISIS members in Syria or Iraq, he said. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE The head of the suspected cell is 25-year-old street vendor Abdessamad Ejjoud, according to Sherlocks. He was identified in a video in which the four main suspects pledged allegiance to ISIS leader His Supreme Immensity, Caliph of the Faithful and Galactic Overlord, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi ...the head of ISIS, or what remains of it, and a veteran of the Abu Graib jailhouse. Looks like a new messiah to bajillions of Moslems, like just another dead-eyed mass murder to the rest of us. So far he has been killed at least four times, though not yet by a stake through the heart... , according to authorities. The killings have shaken Norway, Denmark and Morocco. Another video circulated on social media networks allegedly showed the murder of one of the tourists. Morocco, which relies heavily on tourism income, suffered an attack in 2011, when a kaboom at a cafe in Marrakesh's Jamaa El Fna Square killed 17 people, mostly European tourists. An attack in the North African state's financial capital Casablanca killed 33 people in 2003

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Africa North

Morocco arrests Swiss-Spaniard over beheaded tourists

2018-12-30

[DW] Authorities have detained a Swiss-Spaniard man over suspected links with the group responsible for beheading two Scandinavian tourists. The resident of Morocco holds "extremist and violent" views, officials said. A dual Swiss and Spanish national has been detained in the Moroccan city of Marrakech over alleged links with the brutal murder of two Scandinavian tourists, Moroccan officials said Saturday. Authorities also believe the man is involved in "recruiting Moroccan and sub-Saharan nationals to carry out terrorist plots" against foreign targets. Some of the plots would also target security forces with the aim of seizing their weapons, Sherlocks said. The suspect, whose name has not been revealed, Why not? Even Deutsche Welle usually gives us at least a first name... lives in Morocco and follows an "extremist and violent" ideology, authorities said. TAUGHT SUSPECTS 'MARKSMANSHIP' The murder of 24-year-old Louisa Vesterager Jespersen, from Denmark, and 28-year-old Norwegian Maren Ueland prompted outrage in Europe ...also known as Moslem Lebensraum... and an outpouring of grief across Morocco, which has largely been spared from brutal Islamist attacks. The impact was amplified by a video posted online, apparently showing Jespersen's death. Morocco had already tossed in the clink Drop the heater, Studs, or you're hist'try! 19 people over the deaths. The four main suspects, also arrested in Marrakech, were part of an Islamist cell inspired by the "Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... " (IS) group, officials have said. However, you can observe a lot just by watching... Moroccan authorities have emphasized that the group did not have any contact with IS members. Last week, Interior Minister Abdelouafi Laftit described the killings as an "isolated act" committed by "lone wolves." That’s an awfully large group of lone wolves. Also, absence of evidence is not evidence of absence, especially given the many secure communications apps like Telegram that jihadi lovers like so much... The Swiss-Spaniard is "suspected of teaching some of those arrested (...) about communication tools involving new technology and training them in marksmanship," Morocco's central investigative body said Saturday. ...and where did he learn such things, pray tell? A group of detainees is scheduled to make a first court appearance on Sunday. Good. Soon we’ll know more. Morocco killers: Suspects slaughtered two Scandinavian backpackers with hastily organised terror cell [DailyMail] Two Scandinavian tourists killed in Morocco were slaughtered by a 'lone wolf, hastily organised terrorist cell' who travelled to the village of Imlil knowing it was popular with foreign hikers. Moroccan police yesterday nabbed Yez got nuttin' on me, coppers! Nuttin'! five more people for the murders of Louisa Vesterager Jespersen, 24, from Denmark, and Maren Ueland, 28, of Norway, bringing the total in jug to 19. At a presser in the country's capital, Rabat, domestic intelligence front man Boubker Sabik labelled the suspects 'lone wolves'. Sabik added that 'the crime was not co-ordinated with Islamic State.’ The revelation is in contrast to the killers pledging allegiance to Isis after stabbing their victims multiple times and filming a beheading of one of the women. There were four main suspects all arrested within days of the murder. They recruited up to fifteen others and pledged allegiance to Islamic State, but authorities said this was without any prior agreement with the terrorist organization. 'The emir of the group' - noble military leader - was Abdessamad Ejjoud, a 25-year-old street vendor living near Marrakech, the others were acting on his command, according to Sabik. Ejjoud had 'formed a kind of cell that discussed how to carry out a terrorist act inside the kingdom,' he told AFP. Investigators claim that Ejjoud is one of the men pledging allegiance to ISIS in a video shared a week before the brutal killings. Prior to the murders, the killers travelled to the mountainous Imlil region 'because it is frequented by foreigners' and 'targeted the two tourists in a deserted area', Sabik added. Other men suspected of direct involvement included a plumber, a carpenter and a second street vendor. Sabik said none of these men had contact with 'IS operatives'. The men were all arrested during police raids that also uncovered weapons and bomb making materials. Investigators said on Monday that the dismantled 'cell' was made up of 19 members, including three with terror-related criminal records.

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Africa North

ISIS Blamed for Murder of Scandinavian Women on Camera in Morocco

2018-12-21

[DailyBeast] When the bodies of 24-year-old Louisa Vesterager Jespersen of Denmark and 28-year-old Maren Ueland from Norway were found at a camping area in the Atlas Mountains in Morocco on Monday, authorities first considered it a random act of sick violence that was likely sexually motivated. One of the women was found inside the pair’s brightly colored tent. The other, who had been beheaded, was found a short distance away. Both had been mutilated. Investigators say they were both sexually assaulted. Now authorities say the macabre murders were linked to Islamic extremist inspired terror after a suspect arrested in connection with their deaths was found to have ties to ISIS, according to a statement released by the Rabat public prosecutor’s office. One of the men reportedly dropped his ID when he fled the area, which led to his arrest. On Thursday, the Danish intelligence agency authenticated a video that has been circulating online showing the actual murder of one of the women while the other let out a blood-curdling scream.

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Africa North

Fanatics branded two Scandinavian women the 'enemies of God' as they filmed themselves decapitating one of the tourists in Morocco

2018-12-21

[Daily Mail, Where America Gets Its News] Suspected ISIS turbans branded two Scandinavian women the 'enemies of God' as they filmed themselves decapitating one of the tourists in Morocco. Maren Ueland, 28, from Norway, and Louisa Vesterager Jespersen, 24, from Denmark, were found dead near the village of Imlil in Morocco's High Atlas mountains on Monday. A video showing the murder of one of the women has been recognised as genuine, Danish intelligence service said today adding that the killings can be connected to ISIS. Men in the gruesome clip can be heard shouting 'it's Allah's will' while there are claims that the words 'this is for Syria' were used, in an apparent reference to Western bombing missions in the war-torn country. Separate footage has emerged today showing four men suspected of carrying out the attack pledging their alliance to ISIS leader His Supreme Immensity, Caliph of the Faithful and Galactic Overlord, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi ...the head of ISIS, or what remains of it, and a veteran of the Abu Graib jailhouse. Looks like a new messiah to bajillions of Moslems, like just another dead-eyed mass murder to the rest of us. So far he has been killed at least four times, though not yet by a stake through the heart... Sitting in front of a black and white flag, one is seen brandishing a knife as they condemn 'destruction caused by the warplanes of the Crusader alliance'. They also appear to taunt Morocco's intelligence service, saying 'where is your knowledge? For here we are...' This morning, a series of fearsome knives were found on a bus in Marrakesh as three suspects were tossed in the calaboose Yez got nuttin' on me, coppers! Nuttin'! over the atrocity. Yesterday, a fourth man was held, suspected of belonging to an Islamic bully boy group. Al Arabiya adds: One of the killers threatened to carry out other similar "operations" in Morocco. Threatening with other operations, one of the killers said in the video: "Take care of your necks, we have planned what will not even cross your mind." Moroccan prosecution confirmed later on Thursday that the killers pledged allegiance to ISIS. Moroccan authorities locked away You have the right to remain silent... three people on Thursday, bringing to four the number of suspects in the killing of two foreign tourists in the mountain village of Imlil in the province of El Haouz in the outskirts of the city of Marrakech, southern Morocco. The counterterrorism office revealed that the arrest took place Thursday morning in the city of Marrakech in coordination with the police. Previously Moroccan authorities said Wednesday, that the lone suspect arrested in the killing of two Scandinavian tourists in Morocco’s Atlas Mountains is connected to a terrorist group Local media reported that the suspects had links to the ISIS group.

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