Monday, December 17, 2018

The Murders of Louisa Vesterager Jespersen and Maren Ueland (December 17, 2018)


On 17 December 2018, the bodies of Louisa Vesterager Jespersen, a 24-year-old Danish woman, and Maren Ueland, a 28-year-old Norwegian woman, were found with knife wounds to their necks on Toubkal mountain near to the village of Imlil in the Atlas Mountains of Morocco.

We, the comrades of Unit 1012: The VFFDP, will not forget these two women and we hope those responsible will get the death penalty. Most Moroccans themselves are sickened by this act of violence that they want the perpetrators to die for their crime. 

The bodies of Maren Ueland, left, and Louisa Vesterager Jespersen were discovered near the base of Mount Toubkal. One of the women was decapitated [Monday December 17, 2018]
[PHOTO SOURCE: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/student-backpacker-found-beheaded-in-moroccan-mountains-c6pncw8d5]
 
On 17 December 2018, the bodies of Louisa Vesterager Jespersen, a 24-year-old Danish woman, and Maren Ueland, a 28-year-old Norwegian woman, were found with knife wounds to their necks on Toubkal mountain near to the village of Imlil in the Atlas Mountains of Morocco.
A total of 13 men have been arrested by Moroccan Police in relation to the murders. The murders have been described as a terrorist crime by the Moroccan general prosecutor after a video of some of the suspects swearing allegiance to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant was released on the Internet.


Murders of Louisa Vesterager Jespersen and Maren Ueland
Date
December 17, 2018 (bodies discovered)
Location
Toubkal mountain, close to the village of Imlil, Morocco
Attack type
Melee attack
Victims
Louisa Vesterager Jespersen (born 1994), Denmark
Maren Ueland (born 1990), Norway
Cause of deaths
Knife wounds; beheading[2]
Motive


Background


Louisa Vesterager Jespersen (born 1994) and Maren Ueland (born 1990) were students at the University of South-Eastern Norway, where they studied outdoor recreation and nature guidance. The pair had travelled to Morocco in December as tourists with the intention of trekking and "chasing experiences", according to Jespersen's mother. The two women first arrived in Marrakech before travelling to Imlil in the Atlas Mountains. The village of Imlil is popular with travellers as the main base for summiting Toubkal, which is the highest peak in North Africa.

According to Swedish Defence University researcher Magnus Ranstorp, terrorists attacking tourists is not a new phenomenon and it aims to destabilise the country where such attacks take place.

While Morocco is generally seen as a secure destination for tourists as the last terrorist attack happened in 2011 where 17 people were killed by bomb at a restaurant in Marrakesh, over 1600 people have travelled from Morocco to join the Islamic State in the Syrian Civil War. Moroccan authorities initially ignored the people who joined ISIS but later on realised they could return to commit terrorist offences in Morocco. As a result, the Bureau Central d'Investigations Judiciaires (BCIJ) was formed.

According to a researcher at the Danish Institute for International Studies, Moroccan authorities appear to have a good grip on the jihadist situation and cooperates with European and US authorities. Moroccans are overrepresented in "diaspora terrorism", that is terrorism which takes place outside the borders of Morocco. For eample, two Moroccans were behind the 2017 London Bridge attack and a Moroccan killed people by driving his van into pedestrians in La Rambla in the 2017 Barcelona terrorist attacks.

Murders and investigation

A suspect was quickly apprehended following the incident. Three additional suspects were later apprehended by the police while riding a bus during the morning rush hour in the nearby city of Marrakesh. The three suspects were caught in possession of bladed weapons.

Moroccan police later made additional arrests of individuals believed to have connections with the suspects.

The remains of the victims were flown to Copenhagen 21 December 2018.

Louisa Jespersen (l) and Maren Ueland (r)


Reactions

In Morocco news of the attack was met with widespread outrage and condemnation. The incident received extensive coverage in the international press in part due to the rarity of such attacks in Morocco and the brutality of the murders.

Reactions in the native countries of the victims were of shock and outrage. A public torchlit vigil was held in Ms Ueland's native town of Bryne in support of her family and loved ones.

Vigils for the victims were held in Rabat at the embassies of Norway and Denmark, along with vigils in Marrakesh and Irmil.

Morocco vigils for murdered Scandinavian tourists

Hundreds of Moroccans have attended a vigil in the capital Rabat for two Scandinavian tourists found murdered in the Atlas mountains on Monday.

Holding signs saying "sorry", they gathered to remember Maren Ueland, 28, and Louisa Vesterager Jespersen, 24, at the embassies of Norway and Denmark.

On Friday Norwegian police said a video appearing to show one of the tourists being beheaded was likely to be real.

Four suspects aged between 25 and 33 have been arrested.

They pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group in a video made last week, police said. In the video, they said the murders were revenge for events in Syria.

Nine more arrests were made on Thursday and Friday for suspected links to the perpetrators, Moroccan officials said.

In Rabat a minute's silence was held with Danish and Norwegian diplomats present.

Hundreds more people attended a vigil in the southern village of Imlil, near where the women's bodies were found, and flowers were also laid in the city of Marrakesh.
Who were the victims?

Ms Jespersen, who was 24 and from Denmark, and 28-year-old Norwegian Ms Ueland had been studying outdoor activities at the University of Southeastern Norway.

They had arrived on a month-long holiday in Morocco on 9 December and had travelled to the foothills of Mount Toubkal, North Africa's highest peak, 10km (6 miles) from Imlil.
Their bodies were found in their tent.

Both women had taken full precautions ahead of their trip, Maren Ueland's mother said.



Maren Ueland, left, and Louisa Vesterager Jespersen were found dead in a popular tourist area


Calls for Death Penalty After Video of Beheaded Scandinavian Girl Shocks Morocco
16:08 22.12.2018(updated 16:09 22.12.2018)

Moroccan police have already arrested 13 suspects in the killing of two Scandinavian backpackers, whose bodies were found in the Atlas Mountains with knife wounds to the neck.

A Moroccan has mounted a Change.org petition, calling on the Ministry of Justice to sentence the murderers of 28-year-old Maren Ueland from Norway and 24-year-old Louisa Vesterager Jespersen from Denmark to death.


<<“The death penalty is undoubtedly the right solution to this horrible crime, as [a] Moroccan, I request the application of Articles 393, 399 of the Moroccan Penal Code”, the petition reads.>>


Article 393 stipulates that “murder committed with premeditation or ambush is qualified assassination with the death penalty”, while Article 399 implies that any crime involving torture or acts of barbarism is punishable by death.

Although the North African country has not abolished the death penalty, no executions have taken place since 1993.

The petition has been signed over 370 times as of 22 December, but many are calling for the execution of the suspects on social media:


<<
Karim Alaoui @KarimAlaoui410
Replying to @TSAReilly
Thank you Mr Ambassador. This heinous barbaric act does not represent Morocco or Moroccans. We are warm and loving people. These terrorists are not even humans and I hope they will be sentenced to death penalty. We are very sorry for the families and countries of the victims.
5
2:31 AM - Dec 21, 2018
Twitter Ads info and privacy
See Karim Alaoui's other Tweets>>



<<
Draden @DradenHaven
Replying to @PamelaGeller
This has nothing to do with Islam. Calling those bastards devout Muslims is unacceptable. People in Morocco are shocked and demand death penalty. This is the reality.>>



<<
ᴍ•ɢ
🇲🇦 ᴍᴏʜᴀᴍᴍᴇᴅ ɢᴀʀᴅᴀɴɪ @Mr_Gardani
Death penalty for these crimes is the only answer absolutely heartbreaking to read what has happened ,my heart goes out to their family at this difficult time.>>


Ueland and Jespersen were killed near a path up to peak Toubkal, a popular hiking destination in Morocco. One of the victims was beheaded, while another sustained serious neck wounds. The case is being investigated as a terrorist act.

A video of the decapitation of one of the girls emerged online, with a knife-wielding perpetrator shouting “It’s Allah’s will” and “This is revenge for our brothers in Hajin in Syria. These are your heads, enemy of God", referring to the Daesh stronghold in the province of Deir ez-Zor captured by US-backed forces earlier this week. Danish intelligence services have authenticated the extremely graphic footage.

On Friday, Moroccan police arrested nine more people in various cities across the country shortly after four suspects were detained in the city of Marrakesh.

The country’s Central Bureau for Judicial Investigations said police had discovered electronic devices, unauthorised hunting rifles, knives and materials that could be used for bomb-making.

According to the country’s authorities, the four suspects first arrested over the murder had pledged allegiance to Daesh* in a video now circulating on social media. While the authenticity of the video is yet to be confirmed, no group has claimed responsibility for the murder.

*Daesh, also known as IS/ISIS/Islamic State, is a terrorist organisation outlawed in Russia and many other countries.


OTHER LINKS:

1b. The chilling footage shows a woman screaming while a man cuts her neck with what appears to be a kitchen knife.
During the video, the perpetrators are heard linking the atrocity to the Western bombings in Syria, crying: “This is revenge for our brothers in Hajine in Syria, here are the enemy heads of your Gods.”



1c. Islamic Terrorists Take Two European Women Tourists Hiking In Morocco And Brutally Saw Their Heads Off With A Knife While She Screams For Her Mother Because Of “Sexual Frustration” By Andrew Bieszad on December 20, 2018


2a. EYE FOR AN EYE
Morocco beheading – ISIS butchers could face death penalty as outraged public demands fanatics are executed


2b. Moroccans Petition Government to Give Imlil Suspects Death Penalty
The murders of two Scandinavian tourists not only caused shockwaves but also led some Moroccans to urge the government to give the death penalty to the suspects.


3. Morocco vigils for murdered Scandinavian tourists



 


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