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Rabat – The families of the two Moroccan tourists, including a French-Moroccan national, who were tragically killed by Algeria coast guards last week have announced their intention to file a formal complaint in France.
The legal action is set to take place “on Monday or Tuesday,” and it will encompass charges of “aggravated murder, attempted aggravated murder, ship hijacking, and failure to assist a person in distress,” Hakim Chergui, one of the family’s lawyers, told AFP.
The tragic incident unfolded near Morocco’s Saidia Beach, a popular vacation spot, where two Moroccan nationals lost their lives while participating in water sports on jet skis.
The victims, along with a couple of others, reportedly unintentionally strayed into Algerian waters near the Ben Mhidi Port after deviating from their planned course towards Saidia. They were met with gunfire from Algerian coast guards, resulting in the deaths of the two Moroccan nationals.
Meanwhile, one of the tourists survived and managed to swim back to Moroccan waters while another was apprehended by Algerian authorities.
The incident has caused nationwide outrage, especially after a shocking video surfaced online showing the body of one of the victims floating on water after a Moroccan fisherman discovered it.
Read also: Despite Owning Up the Crime, Algeria Denies Guilt in Murder of Moroccan-French Tourists
In a joint statement, the legal representatives of the families emphasized that the severed diplomatic relations between Morocco and Algeria, initiated by Algiers, should not justify any crimes, let alone grant impunity to those responsible.
“Due to the silence of the Algerian authorities, within whose territory the killings took place, the families have no option but to seek justice in France to shed light on this unimaginably cruel tragedy,” the lawyers further explained.
In response to the ongoing controversy, the Algerian Ministry of Defense released a statement on Sunday where it acknowledged Algerian coast guards’ involvement in the killing of the two tourists.
However, the statement claimed that the coast guards shot fire at the tourists after they defied their order to stop “several times” and attempted to flee the scene “by carrying out dangerous maneuvers.”
The Oujda prosecutor’s office launched on August 29 an investigation into the murder of the two Moroccans.
