Man suspected of spreading Islamist propaganda arrested in Barcelona

A MAN of Pakistani origin accused of fomenting Islamic militancy via social media was detained in Barcelona on the morning of Tuesday May 31.

The arrest took place at dawn in the suburb of L’Hospitalet de Llobregat, with officers from the Provincial Information Brigade supported by the General Information Office.

According to a statement by the Interior Ministry, the detainee was spreading Jihadist propaganda “in a direct way” using various social websites.

“The police operation has led to the neutralization of an important radical element,” announced the Ministry spokesperson, before adding that the “stamping out of these propaganda activities” are “in line with the strategy” of the Commissioner General in terms of early detection of “behaviour which necessarily precedes and justifies terrorist activities.”

The Ministry’s research determined that the individual has a “radical profile” and a “very active and ongoing understanding of ideology and characteristics of the various Jihadist terrorist groups’ strategies in the conflicted territories of Syria and Iraq, especially Daesh.”

The man will now face a judge who will determine his sentence, bringing the total number of individuals arrested in Spanish terrorist investigations this year to 24.