Al Qaeda’s Political Refugees in Spain

The latest reports on the alleged Al Qaeda terrorists arrested in Spain tell us, among other things, that two of them planned to apply for — surprise! — political asylum in their adopted country.

Many thanks to our Spanish correspondent Hermes for translating this article from Diario de Sevilla:

The prosecutor requested an arrest warrant for one of the suspected members of Al Qaeda

The detainees alleged that the spider-hole in which the police believe that explosives were hidden was only a place to store spices, and that it was not built by them.

The prosecutor of the National Court, Pedro Martínez Torrijos, has requested the imprisonment of one of the three alleged Islamists arrested in Ciudad Real and Cádiz, and the extension of the police custody period for the other two, taking into account that they are members of Al Qaeda and were in possession of explosives in order to commit terrorist attacks, judicial sources said.

After having questioned them for more than three hours, the National Court judge will decide whether he will respond to the request from the representative of the attorney general’s office, which charged Turkish national Cengiz Yalcin with the crimes of taking part in a terrorist group and possession of explosives.

In addition, he also requested that the police custody period be extended for Ahmad Avar and Muhammad Adamov, both Russian nationals, for a period of 48 hours while new judicial proceedings are established in order to carry out the analysis of the 100 grams of explosives found.

During their declaration, the detainees alleged that the spider-hole in the house of La Línea de la Concepción where Yalcin and his wife lived, and in which this material was found, was already there when they moved into the house, and was used for the storage of spices.

Political asylum

The two Chechens affirmed before the court that their purpose in Spain was to ask for the status of political refugees, just as one of them did in France before moving to Cádiz, where both arrived from the Russian Federation after having traveled by plane, train and car. Additionally, after being questioned by the prosecutor, Avar acknowledged that he had been in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Yalcin knew them after having met with them frequently in Turkey, which is the reason why he may have hosted them.

Regarding the paraglide guide found in the house, Yalcin explained that he had the intention to learn how to fly with paraglide while staying in Cádiz, and that he could teach them. Apart from this, he explained that the model aircraft belonged to his son, who is devoted to this hobby.

The computer material seized from the presumed terrorists and retrieved from some mobile phones, an iPod and a 32 GB flash drive was exposed prior to these declarations, in which the French liaison judge in Spain also assisted.

The Interior Minister considers them to be “extremely dangerous”

Fernández Díaz insisted that the detainees are “extremely dangerous” because they have knowledge in the making of poisons and car bombs. In fact, he added that one of the Russian nationals was considered to be a “very important” member of the operative system of Al Qaeda, while the Turk might have acted as facilitator.

According to Fernández Díaz, there are “clear signs” that the three detainees “could have been planning an attack in Spain and/or other countries. At least 100 grams of explosives and various devices which could have been used as detonators were found in the flat at La Línea de la Concepción. According to the Minister, the equipment could have been enough to blow up a bus.

This Friday the National Police began the search for the explosives which disappeared from the spider-hole on suspicion that this material could not have been carried outside of Spain, antiterrorist forces informed Europa Press.

The three had been in Spain for at least fifteen days, and during this time they were closely watched by Spanish agents and the Intelligence Services of other countries. The first arrest tool place at a stopover in Almuradiel-Ciudad Real in a bus en route from Cádiz to Irún. Due to suspicions that the two Russians wanted to cross the border to France, the agents decided to take action. The intervention of the police special operations forces was needed because one of them put up overwhelming resistance.

The Turkish national was arrested in his house in La Línea de la Concepción — Cádiz, where he was living with his wife. Fernández Díaz explained that this detainee seemed to be more of a ‘facilitator” than an active member of the group.