EICRI – THE HAGUE • Widespread mediacoverage can harm the status of Morocco as a key destination for European tourists. Three men were arrested Thursday morning over the murder of Louisa Vesterager Jespersen, 24, from Denmark, and Maren Ueland, 28, from Norway.
Home-grown terrorism
The “bestial” murder of two young women in Morocco is being investigated as a terror attack, Danish Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said.
A video, uploaded online to social media last week by one of the perpetrators, reveals how at least one of the women was decapitated. The beheader shouts at the woman laying on the ground while carving with a butcherknife. “Die, enemy of God!” can be heard from the video.
“Dear friends, I’m going to Morocco in December. Any of you guys who’s around by then or any mountain friends who knows something about Mount Toubkal?“
Before leaving, Jespersen, from Denmark, had posted on Facebook about her upcoming trip. “Dear friends, I’m going to Morocco in December. Any of you guys who’s around by then or any mountain friends who knows something about Mount Toubkal?“
Compared to other countries in North Africa, Morocco has been largely insulated from militant and terroristic attacks. The most recent took place in April 2011, when around 17 people were killed in a bombing of the Argana restaurant in Marrakech.
“This is a brutal and meaningless attack on innocent people, which we react to with disgust and condemnation,” said Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg in a statement.
Three arrests made
Three out of the four perpetrators have been arrested, the Moroccan Press Agency reported on Thursday.
The Atlas Mountains and Marrakech: key attractions
The bustling and vibrant buzz of Marrakesh medina sums up Morocco for many visitors and is a major tourist attraction. The old city is entered from the vast plaza of Djemma el-fna Square where, it seems, half the city converges throughout the day and into the evening to hang out with the stall vendors, traditional musicians, snake charmers, and random acrobats.
Lying near the foot of the Atlas Mountains, Marrakech is becoming a hub for hikers and other tourists from across the world.
The Moroccan authorities are expected to act firmly to halt the negative backlash of the murder on the two tourists from Scandinavia.
EICRI has decided not to link to the personal Facebook account nor the video of the decapitation of the late Jespersen and Ueland due to privacy reasons and to respect the victims and families of those who suffered.
