Pakistani terrorists wanted to behead blasphemers in Barcelona
They were identifying targets in Europe among people opposed to their doctrine. They are linked to the radical Islamist party TLP.
The detainees getting into the car
Mossos d'Esquadra
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The Mossos d'Esquadra, the National Police and the Italian police have arrested eleven people who They were preparing to carry out beheadings in Europe. They are linked to the radical Islamist political party Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) or I am a social movement here in Pakistan..
The TLP is a political party that emerged from a radical Islamist far-right movement in Pakistan. The party is known for their frontal and very violent opposition to any change in the country's blasphemy laws, which provide for punishments such as the death penalty.
One of the most shocking incidents took place in 2018, during the blasphemy trial of a young Christian woman who was beaten by a mob. Everything seemed destined to end in execution after eight years in prison for insulting Muhammad.
The young woman's last-minute acquittal enraged the TLP. The party leaders incited supporters to protest violently to demand the death penalty for the judge and the woman accused of blasphemy.
They wanted to behead blasphemers from Barcelona
The group of eleven people arrested was spreading messages via WhatsApp to incite the murder and beheading of anyone who spoke ill of Islam or its prophet.
In the intercepted messages glorify terrorists who had carried out attacks on people accused of blasphemy in Europe and Pakistan. One of their heroes He is the Chechen who beheaded a French teacher. for publishing caricatures of Muhammad.
They attacked TikTok accounts opposed to Islam.
The investigation has revealed that some of those arrested had already identified possible targets in Europe. They carried out their search for victims on TikTok among those spreading anti-Islam messages.
In one of the WhatsApp groups, they pointed out TikTok accounts to coordinate and report them in order to get them shut down. The ultimate aim was to locate people in order to kill them..
Accused of terrorism
The arrested (ten men and one woman) They are accused of crimes of glorification, advocacy, financing and indoctrination of terrorism., as well as carrying out actions to select possible targets. Four have been remanded in custody.
The woman who managed the WhatsApp accounts has been released.
Arrested in Barcelona and Italy
In this operation, 11 people have been arrested, 10 in Barcelona and its metropolitan area and one in Piacenza (Italy). This operation is the third phase of an investigation that already led to the arrest of five people in 2022 and 14 more in 2023, all linked to a radical Pakistani organisation.
The Mossos d'Esquadra, the National Police and the Italian police took part under the orders of the National Court.
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