Spanish-Swiss man says he was not involved in slaying of Scandinavian backpackers in Morocco

A Spanish-Swiss man accused of involvement in the murder of two Scandinavian hitchhikers in Morocco has claimed he is innocent of all charges, in murders that rocked that North African country.

He told an anti-terror judge that he was innocent at a hearing Monday, his lawyer after Danish student Louisa Vesterager Jespersen, 24, and 28-year-old Norwegian Maren Ueland were found beheaded in December in the High Atlas mountains. 

"He affirmed his innocence before the examining magistrate, who heard him out in a positive atmosphere", lawyer Saad Sahli told AFP.    

Moroccan authorities have called the killing a "terrorist" act and charged more than 20 people over their alleged involvement.

The Spanish-Swiss suspect was detained in Marrakesh, with authorities alleging he subscribed to "extremist ideology".

He is accused of having "taught certain people arrested in this affair the communication tools of new technologies and of having trained them to shoot", according to the anti-terror unit of the Central Bureau of Judicial Investigations (BCIJ).

Investigators say the Spanish-Swiss suspect was involved in "recruitment operations and the indoctrination of Moroccan citizens and sub-Saharan Africans to execute terrorist plans in Morocco".

The authorities claim he were inspired by the Islamic State group and swore allegiance to its leader, but were not directly linked to the group.

A video allegedly showing the murder of one of the women was uploaded online.

Morocco, which relies heavily on tourism income, fears the gruesome murders could impact heavily on the country.

A bomb blast in 2011 at a Marrakesh cafe killing 17 people, mostly European tourists, caused a decline in tourist numbers.