The trial in Morocco of nine suspects in a bomb attack in Marrakesh, which killed 17 people in April, was yesterdayadjourned until Monday.

With the suspects in the dock, the lawyer for the prosecution asked the court for a delay in the trial so that he could prepare and complete his final plea.

The nine are accused of “seriously undermining public order, premeditated murder and laying an ambush, the possession of and making of explosives, and belonging to a banned religious group”.

Before the court went into session, the main defendant, Adil El Othmani, claimed that he was innocent when he stammered out a few words in English.

Relatives of the French nationals killed in the April 28 attack on the terrace of the Argana café on Marrakesh’s bustling Djemaa El-Fna square were present at the hearing.

No photo or video cameras were allowed in the court although proceedings were open to the written press.

The Marrakesh bombing was the most deadly in the North African kingdom since attacks in the coastal city of Casablanca in 2003 which killed 33 people and 12 suicide bombers.