Morocco’s Minister of Interior has joined the list of officials who condemned the criminal act committed against two Scandinavian tourists near Toubkal Mountain.
Rabat – Minister of Interior Abdelouafi Laftit strongly denounced the murders of Louisa Vesterager Jespersen and Maren Ueland killed 10 kilometers from the village of Imlil in the Atlas Mountains.
Answering questions from parliamentarians at the House of Representatives today, Laftit said that the crime is foreign to Moroccan values and traditions.
“Terrorism is an unacceptable act,” he said, adding that “terrorism has no homeland.”
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Laftit emphasized that the scourge of terrorism is a global threat that “does not spare any country.”
Terrorist challenges, according to the official, are a constant and “ongoing danger” as long as there is an “extremist rhetoric “ that resonates with some people.
The minister said that the first step in the counterterrorism fight is “to protect society from the dangers that result from the exploitation of religion for abject ends, far from its tolerance values.” He also called on all groups and individuals to adopt “a clear discourse of principles and distance themselves from mercantile exploitation of values and virtues.”
Laftit said that the murders of the Scandinavian tourists is the outcome of an extremist rhetoric that is against “our culture and values, which are inspired by our holy religion and based on the spirit of tolerance, openness and moderation”.
Morocco’s security services arrested 13 suspects involved in the murders of the Scandinavian tourists, whose bodies were found on Monday, December 17.
According to the public prosecutor at Rabat’s Court of Appeal, one of the suspects was part of a “radicalized” group.
Although four arrested suspects appeared in video pledging allegiance to ISIS, security officials said that the suspects acted alone without coordination with ISIS.
Morocco’s Central Bureau of Judicial Investigation (BCIJ) are still, however, investigating the case as a potential terror attack.
The minister echoed a statement made by the spokesperson of Morocco’s General Directorate of National Security (DGSN)Boubker Sabik, who said that the crime was not linked to a large terror organization.
Laftit said that the suspects were ideologically motivated to commit the heinous murder on their own with “simple means inspired by the practice of terrorist organizations.”
Laftit added that the suspects resorted to this method because of the “success “ of the authorities to tighten their grip on terror groups and reduce their terrorist capacity.”
