COPENHAGEN: Danish police on Thursday said they had launched prosecutions against 14 people suspected of sharing on social media the murder video of one of the two young Scandinavian hikers killed in Morocco.
Danish student Louisa Vesterager Jespersen, 24, and 28-year-old Norwegian Maren Ueland were found dead at an isolated hiking spot south of Marrakesh on December 17.
The pair were stabbed, had their throats slit and were then beheaded, according to Morocco’s counter-terror chief.
A video circulating on social networks at the time, believed authentic by authorities, showed one of the murders in the High Atlas mountains.
“The 14 people are accused of violating the penal code by sharing the video — usually via Facebook Messenger or other social networks,” said East Jutland police chief Michael Kjeldgaard in a statement.
Two of them are also accused of apologizing for terrorism, the prosecution told AFP.
Six of those indicted, whose identities have not been revealed, are between 13 and 18 years old.
The grisly killings of the hikers shocked Morocco, where tourism is a cornerstone of the economy.
Moroccan authorities have called the killings a “terrorist” act and charged more than 20 people for their alleged involvement.
The authorities allege that the four main suspects in the murder were inspired by the Daesh group, but say they were not in direct contact with Daesh members in Iraq or Syria.
Denmark police prosecute 14 over sharing Morocco hikers ‘murder video’
Denmark police prosecute 14 over sharing Morocco hikers ‘murder video’
- A video circulating on social networks at the time, believed authentic by authorities, showed one of the murders in the High Atlas mountains
UN’s top court opens Myanmar Rohingya genocide case
- The Gambia filed a case against Myanmar at the UN’s top court in 2019
- Verdict expected to impact Israel’s genocide case over war on Gaza
DHAKA: The International Court of Justice on Monday opened a landmark case accusing Myanmar of genocide against its mostly Muslim Rohingya minority.
The Gambia filed a case against Myanmar at the UN’s top court in 2019, two years after a military offensive forced hundreds of thousands of Rohingya from their homes into neighboring Bangladesh.
The hearings will last three weeks and conclude on Jan. 29.
“The ICJ must secure justice for the persecuted Rohingya. This process should not take much longer, as we all know that justice delayed is justice denied,” said Asma Begum, who has been living in the Kutupalong refugee camp in Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar district since 2017.
A mostly Muslim ethnic minority, the Rohingya have lived for centuries in Myanmar’s western Rakhine state but were stripped of their citizenship in the 1980s and have faced systemic persecution ever since.
In 2017 alone, some 750,000 of them fled military atrocities and crossed to Bangladesh, in what the UN has called a textbook case of ethnic cleansing by Myanmar.
Today, about 1.3 million Rohingya shelter in 33 camps in Cox’s Bazar, turning the coastal district into the world’s largest refugee settlement.
“We experienced horrific acts such as arson, killings and rape in 2017, and fled to Bangladesh,” Begum told Arab News.
“I believe the ICJ verdict will pave the way for our repatriation to our homeland. The world should not forget us.”
A UN fact-finding mission has concluded that the Myanmar 2017 offensive included “genocidal acts” — an accusation rejected by Myanmar, which said it was a “clearance operation” against militants.
Now, there is hope for justice and a new future for those who have been displaced for years.
“We also have the right to live with dignity. I want to return to my homeland and live the rest of my life in my ancestral land. My children will reconnect with their roots and be able to build their own future,” said Syed Ahmed, who fled Myanmar in 2017 and has since been raising his four children in the Kutupalong camp.
“Despite the delay, I am optimistic that the perpetrators will be held accountable through the ICJ verdict. It will set a strong precedent for the world.”
The Myanmar trial is the first genocide case in more than a decade to be taken up by the ICJ. The outcome will also impact the genocide case that Israel is facing over its war on Gaza.
“The momentum of this case at the ICJ will send a strong message to all those (places) around the world where crimes against humanity have been committed,” Nur Khan, a Bangladeshi lawyer and human rights activist, told Arab News.
“The ICJ will play a significant role in ensuring justice regarding accusations of genocide in other parts of the world, such as the genocide and crimes against humanity committed by Israel against the people of Gaza.”
