I regret it," former street vendor Abdessamad Ejjoud, 25, told the court, blaming co-defendant Younes Ouaziyad for killing the other hiker. In theory, the killers could face the death penalty, but Morocco has had a de facto freeze on executions since 1993. The main suspects are all from the Marrakesh region, near the site of the killings which shocked the North African country. The only foreigner among the defendants is Spanish-Swiss 25-year-old Kevin Zoller Guervos, who moved to Morocco after converting to Islam. The trial opened on May 2 but was adjourned to May 16 and then paused again after a brief hearing.

Source: The North Africa Journal May 30, 2019 14:03 UTC