Spanish justice sentenced this Friday the leader of a jihadist cell based in Barcelona to ten years in prison and three other of its members to eight years for having planned attacks against Russian objectives in this city.
The National Audience condemned "
four members of a jihadist terrorist cell based in Barcelona which had chosen Russian targets against which to carry out attacks in the capital of Catalonia
"
, a region in northeastern Spain, said this Madrid court in a statement.
Two other defendants were however acquitted, added this body responsible in particular for terrorism cases.
"
This cell was able to act in Barcelona
," the court explained.
Cell in contact with IS
Once trained "
in the use of explosives, knives and carrying out mass actions with a ram car
" and, in "
waiting to obtain war material
", the cell leader "
had began to list possible targets, in particular Russian interests in the capital of Catalonia
,” the court continued in its statement.
According to the magistrates, this cell was in contact with the Islamic State (IS) "
via a complex system using a chain of various applications, (...) validated by the technological division
" of the IS.
The cell had also produced "
images of emblematic places in Barcelona
", the court said.
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Double attack in 2017
Catalonia was the scene in 2017 of a double attack that killed 16 people in Barcelona, on the famous avenue of the Ramblas, and in the seaside resort of Cambrils.
Spain, which according to many experts remains in the crosshairs of radical Islam, was hit on March 11, 2004 by the bloodiest jihadist attack in Europe, when devices exploded on board four suburban trains in Madrid's Atocha station, killing 191 and injuring around 2,000.