The National Court has sentenced the four members of a jihadist terrorist cell based in Barcelona who planned to attack the Catalan capital, preferably against Russian targets, to eight and 10 years in prison.

The sentence of the Second Section of the Criminal Chamber imposes 10 years in prison on Rabah Hadjeras, alias Rabeh, for the crime of promoting and directing a terrorist group. This is the first time that article 572.1 of the Penal Code, which punishes this behavior, has been applied, because until now those detained for jihadism were sentenced as mere members of Daesh, without the rank of leaders.

The magistrates sentence Omar Negazzi, Brahim, to eight years in prison; Hatab Samir, Miami; and Lyes Arfa, Sourfian, for integration into a terrorist organization. On the contrary, the court acquits Younas El Morabit and Hichem Hamouche of the crime of collaboration with the terrorist group.

The 172-page sentence considers it proven that Rabeh led the cell that included Omar Negazzi (in training, information and contact functions with Daesh), Hatab Samir (informatics and telecommunications) and Lyes Arfa (target identifier). .

“In readiness to act”

“This cell was in a position to act in Barcelona, for which they had not only been theoretically trained in the postulates of radical jihadist Salafism, but they had also been trained in the production of explosives and in handling other types of weapons and they had begun the process to provide themselves with the necessary weapons for this purpose,” says the court.

The cell was in contact with the ISIS organization in the Middle East “through a complex system consisting of the chained use of various applications, alien to each other and previously validated by the technology division of the Islamic State, whose sequenced use allowed establishing a dialogue direct with ISIS.

Thanks to this direct connection, the members of the cell could consult any new material that was published by any of the official ISIS channels, sometimes even within a few minutes of its publication, as well as being informed almost in real time of the attacks that they occurred.

To maintain the ideological cohesion of the cell, its leader called meetings attended by the other members of the group and third parties he trusted.. They used to take place in secluded and discreet places, such as the breakwater on the Mar Bella beach in Barcelona, a recreational area on Avenida Lluís Companys at night and inside a bar in the Born area.

Armament

Once the formation and ideological cohesion of the members of the cell had been consolidated, the other priority of Rabah Hadjeras, “being its members ready to take action, was to provide the group with the necessary weapons and, logically, the capacity and ability to use it.

The sentence describes all the audiovisual material consulted by the cell for its objectives, including a sufficient tutorial to learn how to successfully prepare and handle the explosive substance Triacetone Triperoxide (TATP or mother of Satan) with an improvised functional electric detonator with full capacity. lethal or harmful

The resolution explains that, during his stay in the Brians-1 prison, Rabah Hadjeras contacted the defendant Younas El Morabit, who was serving a sentence for trafficking in war weapons, so that once he was released he could provide them with access to weapons.. Despite this, Sala does not see proven that El Morabit made a firm offer that justifies his conviction.

Once the necessary training and ideological cohesion of the cell had been obtained, “trained in the use of explosives and knives and in how to successfully carry out mass run-downs and with the expectation of obtaining war material”, Hadjeras proceeded to mark the possible objectives, especially Russian interests in the Catalan capital.

The Court explains that the designation of Russian interests as a target was not accidental or random, but in accordance with Daesh's lines of action, since Abu Mohamed al Adnani, spokesman for the terrorists, had already urged in July 2016 to ” blow the fire of a holy war» against Moscow.

The Chamber considers the contribution of Lyes Arfa in this selection of objectives to be transcendental. Thus, it indicates that on May 30, 2018, through the Messenger application, he sent a video of the most significant tourist places in Barcelona with an audio in Arabic in which a call was made for the action of lone wolves.

lonely wolf

In this objective, according to the sentence, Lyes Arfa was in charge of contacting Hichem Hamouche to specify the Russian objectives in Barcelona. The latter worked in the port of Barcelona, specifically in a company that provides repair and maintenance services for large yachts.. Thanks to Hamouche's information, Arfa photographed three yachts anchored in the port of Barcelona that belonged to Russian citizens.

The Court highlights the location of a video sent by Sourfian, on May 30, 2018, via Messenger, in which he shows a sequence of images of emblematic places in Barcelona combined with a speech that speaks of the figure of the lone wolf.

“The conjunction of both elements (lone wolf speech – Barcelona) would try to motivate and incite those who reproduce it to carry out some kind of violent action in the city, especially in those points of greatest tourist attraction and agglomeration of masses”, he concludes .

The possession of this video, says the Chamber, again provides evidence of the alleged direct participation of Sourfian in the preparation of the terrorist action announced by the leader of the group, that is, “inciting to commit a terrorist act in the same city in which those investigated would have resolved to materialize it”.