The Appeal Court in Sale closed, on Thursday, the hearing of the defendants implicated in the murder of two Scandinavian tourists in the Imlil region (El Haouz province). During this hearing, the Court brought charges against the six defendants, among the 24 individuals sued in this case, namely the «planning of terrorist acts inside the Kingdom targeting tourists, police and Gendarmerie members and some tourism sites, failure to report a crime, apology for terrorism and murder of two Scandinavian tourists». In a statement to MAP, lawyer Hafida Mekssaoui said that the session took place «in very normal conditions» after the hearing of 18 defendants in previous sessions, welcoming the fact that the translation was ensured for the suspect holding the Swiss-Spanish nationality. At the end of this hearing, which was attended by representatives of national and foreign media outlets, the Court decided to resume the trial next Thursday. The suspects are standing trial over the charges of «setting up a gang to prepare and commit terrorist act, deliberately putting the life of people in danger, possessing firearms and attempting to manufacture explosive devices in violation of the law as part of a collective project to undermine public order». As part of investigations carried out following the discovery of the dead bodies of two foreign tourists in the town of Imlil, the central Bureau for judicial investigations (BCIJ), under the directorate general for national territory surveillance, had announced that it had arrested several suspects, in collaboration with the Royal Gendarmerie and National Police.
