Guardia Civil arrest in Lleida a Pakistani resident in Spain for Jihadi self-indoctrination

The detainee formed part of a group of individuals, all of Pakistani nationality, that was partially dismantled on 30 June 2016 within the framework of Operation 'Farina', which resulted in the arrest, also in Lleida, of three brothers. As part of this operation, various computer storage media was seized containing significant Jihadi content. As a result of the analysis of the IT material seized, the Guardia Civil established a clear relationship between A.Z. and the three brothers arrested, currently in prison upon instructions from Central Investigation Court Number 1 of the National high Court.

They all formed part of a single cell, of extremely radical ideology, with the clear intention of spreading Jihadi ideology, mainly through the social media.

Specifically, A.Z. consumed and spread, through his Facebook social media profiles, Jihadi messages focused on justifying and an explicit call to the armed Jihad, instigation to martyrdom, praise for terrorist groups and their leaders, as well as a significant volume of propaganda distributed by the media producers of these terrorist groups. Some anti-Semitic content also appeared among this material of a radical nature.

Over recent weeks, investigators observed that his level of radicalisation had not waned, and he displayed significant social withdrawal, neglecting his job commitments to almost exclusively devote his time to the strict practice of religious customs and the consumption of radical material.

Since 26 June 2015, the date on which the Ministry of Home Affairs raised the Counter-Terrorism Alert Level to level 4 (Spanish acronym: NAA-4), State law enforcement agencies have arrested a total of 200 Jihadi terrorists in operations carried out in Spain and abroad and a total of 245 since the start of 2015.

The Ministry of Home Affairs sends out a reminder that, through the initiative STOP RADICALISMOS, citizens can collaborate through a series of channels open to them so that, in a confidential and secure manner, they can notify the State law enforcement agencies of possible cases of radicalisation in their vicinity through the web page www.stop-radicalismos.es, the mobile phone app for citizen security alerts 'Alertcops' and the free hotline 900 822 066.

Non official translation