Spanish Guardia Civil arrests two people of Moroccan nationality in Ibiza for acting in support of terrorist group DAESH

The arrested men - A.E.M. and J.R., aged 31 and 35 - began to increase their activity on the Internet and social media networks in 2012, coinciding with the Arab Spring phenomenon and the large-scale exodus of foreign terrorist fighters joining the ranks of the terrorist group DAESH in Syria and Iraq. With these two arrests, the State law enforcement agencies of Spain have now arrested 156 Jihadis since 2015, in which year the Anti-terrorist Alert Level was raised to 4.

According to the investigation, A.E.M. used his personal profile on Facebook as a platform to both spread DAESH propaganda and organise matters related to the Islamic community he led. Furthermore, he used the same profile to publicly show his support for the terrorist group by providing access to media products issued by DAESH, such as videos and links to various publications.

The arrested men also encouraged their followers to take up radical Salafism by fostering hatred, segregation and even violence against those they called the "enemies of Islam". They also praised the attitude of those Muslims who decide to travel to various conflict zones and "take up the Jihad" by joining the ranks of DAESH.

Within the framework of this operation, one of the aspects that most concerned the investigating officers was the influence had by the two men on the members of the Islamic community on the island, highlighting the especially serious nature of their influence over the children who attended classes they themselves taught at the mosque.

As is becoming usual in operations of this kind, the exchange of information with the Moroccan DGST was decisive to the conclusion of this operation against activities undertaken in favour of DAESH and other terrorist groups in Spain.

Those in charge of the investigation are now focusing their efforts on analysing the documentation and data extracted from various electronic devices in order to shed light on possible connections between the arrested individuals and other radical elements.

The Ministry of Home Affairs reminds the public that the 'Stop Radicalism' initiative provides people with a series of channels through which they can safely and confidentially inform the Centre for Intelligence against Terrorism and Organised Crime, [Spanish acronym: CITCO], of any possible cases of radicalisation in their community: the website www.stop-radicalismos.es, the public safety alert mobile app Alertcops and the freephone number 900 822 066.