Rabat – A judicial source quoted by state-owned news agency Maghreb Arab Press (MAP) has confirmed the conviction and sentencing of a Swiss suspect, the second Morocco arrested in connection to the Imlil murders.
The source confirmed that the criminal chamber affiliated to the Sale appeal court sentenced a Swiss national on Thursday.
The judicial source said that the “computer advertising technician” received 10 years in prison. Swiss outlets identified the suspect as Nicolas P.
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The court convicted the suspect of “the setting up of a gang to prepare and commit terrorist acts aimed at seriously undermining public order, and defending, organizing and failing to report terrorist crimes and acts.”
The public prosecutor at the Rabat appeal court said that police arrested 22 other suspects, including another Swiss national, presumably referring to Kevin Zoller Guervos, arrested on December 28.
Moroccan prosecutors tried Nicolas’s case separate from the other 22. According to Swiss Info, Nicolas did not know the four primary suspects, but the court based his conviction on his relationship with Genevans who went to Syria to fight with ISIS.
The other Swiss national was “prosecuted in the same case for ‘setting up a gang to prepare and commit terrorist acts as part of a collective project aimed at seriously undermining public order and promoting terrorist acts and organizations, as well as the failure to report terrorist crimes.’”
Swiss news outlet 24 Heures said that the suspect was living in Rabat for some years with his wife and children.
Another Swiss news outlet said that both Swiss suspects knew each other.
The bodiers of Louisa Vesterager Jespersen and Maren Ueland were found on December 17, 2018, near Mount Toubkal, causing national and international shock.
The Moroccan police confirmed that the victims were beheaded.
Following the incident, Moroccans expressed their solidarity with the families of the victims with several gestures. While some rallied in the streets to condemn the murders, others used emotional words to express their support for the victims’ relatives on social media.
