ISIS fanatic jailed in Morocco for gruesome beheading of two Scandinavian migrant women that shocked the world hangs himself in prison

An ISIS fanatic sentenced to death for the gruesome beheading of two Scandinavian migrants in Morocco has hanged himself in his prison cell.

The body of the convicted terrorist Abderrahim Khayali (36) was discovered on Tuesday morning by guards at the prison in Oujda, a city in the north-east of Morocco.

Khayali was one of four convicted ISIS fighters jailed and sentenced to death in 2019 for the gruesome murders of Norwegian Maren Ueland (28) and Danish Louisa Vesterager Jespersen (24) in the High Atlas Mountains of Morocco.

The group’s alleged leader, Abdessamad Ejjoud, and two others – Younes Ouaziyad and Rachid Afatti – filmed themselves beheading the two hikers in their tent in December 2018 before posting the gruesome footage online in a case that has drawn worldwide attention. shocked.

Khayali abandoned his fellow ISIS fanatics before killing the two women who were backpacking. He claimed during his trial that he left “out of regret”.

Danish student Louisa Vesterager Jespersen (24) and Norwegian Maren Ueland (28) were found decapitated in the High Atlas Mountains in Morocco in December 2018

Khayali (seen on the right in this video) appeared with the three killers in a video in which all four pledged allegiance to ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in front of a black and white ISIS flag

Abdessamad Ejjoud (right), an underground imam, confessed to beheading one of the women and Younes Ouaziyad (centre) the other at a 2019 trial, while Rachid Afatti (left) filmed the killings with his mobile phone.

Khayali, who tried to help the militants escape, also appeared in a video with the three killers, in which all four swore allegiance to ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in front of a black and white ISIS flag.

He was originally sentenced to life in prison, but the sentence was commuted to execution after he appealed.

Ejjoud, Ouaziyad and Afatti were also sentenced to death by firing squad for beheading the two tractors in 2019. The court also imposed prison terms on 19 people who were found guilty as accomplices.

During their trial, the four ISIS fanatics said: “May God forgive us,” while one added, “There is no god but Allah,” as the judge asked for their closing statements before delivering his verdict.

The conviction was Morocco’s first death penalty since 1993.

While the death penalty remains legal in Morocco, executions are rare. The most recent execution was in 1993 of Mustapha Tabet, a once powerful police commissioner of Casablanca who was convicted of raping and abusing hundreds of victims.

Since then there have been no executions due to a moratorium and the issue of the death penalty is a matter of political debate. This means that the murderers Ejjoud, Ouaziyad and Afatti remain behind bars.

During the trial of the ISIS fighters, Helle Petersen, the mother of Danish victim Louisa Vesterager Jespersen, said in a letter to the court: “The just thing would be to give these animals the death penalty they deserve.”

A portrait of Louisa and Maren is seen at a makeshift memorial amid flowers and candles at City Hall Square in Copenhagen, Denmark, December 28, 2018

Between 500 and 1,000 people from Maren Ueland’s hometown took part in a torchlight parade in Bryne, Norway on 21 December 2018. The march was held in honor of Norwegian Maren Ueland and Danish Louisa Vesterager Jespersen, who were beheaded in Morocco.

Lawyer Khalid Fataoui, on the verge of tears, also read passages in which Louisa described how her life had been ruined by the death of her daughter.

“I cry all the time when I think about her. My daughter and her (boyfriend) Maren had dreams and were kidnapped in the most horrible way,” the letter reads.

The women’s three killers were “bloodthirsty monsters,” prosecutors said at the trial, noting that an autopsy report found 23 injuries on Jespersen’s decapitated body and seven on Uelands.

Ejjoud, an underground imam, confessed at a previous trial that he beheaded one of the women and Younes Ouaziyad, a 27-year-old carpenter, the other while Rachid Afatti (33) filmed the murders with his mobile phone.

Khayali, a plumber, accompanied the three killers but left the scene before the murders.

Coming from humble backgrounds and with a “very low” level of education, ISIS fanatics mostly lived in the low-income areas of Marrakesh.

During the trial, Jespersen’s lawyers accused authorities of failing to monitor the activities of some suspects before the murders.

The brutal murders could have been avoided if the authorities had heeded information about street vendor Ejjoud’s behavior, they said.

The alleged leader, who was convicted of trying to join ISIS in Syria, was released from prison in early 2015 and continued to meet with former prisoners and others without authorities checking, lawyer Khaled El Fataoui said.

The lawyer claimed the police were informed of the men’s group’s activities but did not intervene.

Lawyer Houssine Raji added that the four main ISIS fanatics met in madrassas run by cleric Mohamed al-Maghraoui, which was closed by a court decision in 2010 but had to be reopened in 2012 by the minister of justice.

Investigators said the “cell” was inspired by IS ideology, but Morocco’s counter-terrorism chief insisted the suspects had no contact with the jihadist group in conflict zones.

After the 2019 trial, the court also sentenced a Swiss-Spanish convert to Islam, Kevin Zoller, to 20 years in prison. Prosecutors said he had ties to the men who orchestrated the women’s murders and had direct contact with IS members in Syria through the encrypted Telegram messaging service.

Another Swiss was sentenced to ten years in prison for, among other things, “willful incitement of terrorists” and training of terrorists, state news agency MAP said at the time.

Morocco has been largely spared from deadly jihadist acts since attacks in Casablanca that killed 33 people in 2003 and one in Marrakech in 2011 that killed 17 people.