The National Police have arrested 14 people in the provinces of Barcelona (7), Guipúzcoa (2), Valencia (2), Álava (1), Lleida (1) and La Rioja (1) for allegedly belonging to a movement of Pakistani origin and for carrying out acts of indoctrination, apology and glorification of terrorism.
The detainees allegedly belonged to a group of Pakistani origin made up of people with an “intolerant and violent interpretation of religion”.
The police explained in a statement that the operation was carried out jointly by the General Commissariat of Information (CGI); the General Commissariat of Foreigners and Borders and the Provincial Brigades of Information and Foreigners of Barcelona, Lleida, Valencia, Logroño, San Sebastián, Málaga, Palma, Vitoria and Jaén.
In September 2020, a member of this alleged organisation committed an attack in which two people were seriously injured in Paris.
Following this event, the CGI and the Barcelona Provincial Information Brigade launched an investigation to “detect radical profiles of followers of this movement” in Spain.
As a result, the agents arrested five people in February 2022, in which members of this alleged extremist organisation were arrested “for the first time in Spain”.
Investigators have continued with the investigations until their culmination with the arrests made this week.