The trial of three alleged helpers of the Islamist attackers in Barcelona and Cambrils in 2017 began today in Spain. Two of the accused have to answer for membership in a jihadist cell, among other things, and all three face long prison terms.
In the attacks reported by the Islamic State (IS) jihadist militia, 16 people were killed and 140 injured. In Barcelona, an assassin raced into the crowd with a delivery truck on Las Ramblas.
Prosecution calls for long prison terms
The process takes place under high security in San Fernando de Henares in the east of Madrid. The 23-year-old main defendant is charged, among other things, with membership in a terrorist organization and the production and possession of explosives. Prosecutors asked him to be sentenced to 41 years in prison.
A 31-year-old Moroccan co-defendant is said to have been imprisoned for 36 years, according to the claims of the plaintiffs. He is charged with the same offenses as the main defendant. He had rented the van that killed 14 people in the attack on Ramblas in central Barcelona. The third defendant faces eight years in prison for lending the bombers a vehicle and documents.
Assassin shot dead by police
On August 17, 2017, the Islamist assassin Younes Abouyaaqoub, a 22-year-old Moroccan, raced into the crowd of people on the promenade in Barcelona in a delivery van. While fleeing, he killed another person before being shot by the police days later.
The day after the attack, five other suspected Islamists ran over several passers-by in the seaside resort of Cambrils, injuring them and stabbing a woman. These attackers were also shot dead by the police.
