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Date Published: 02/05/2024

Dutch woman arrested over shooting of Spanish politician last year

A woman accused of financing the attack against Alejo Vidal-Quadras last November has been arrested in the Netherlands

Dutch security forces have arrested a woman in the Netherlands for her alleged involvement in the financing and preparation of the attack on Alejo Vidal-Quadras, one of the founders of the Vox political party in Spain and ex-leader of the PP in Catalonia.

Vidal-Quadras was shot in the face in broad daylight on a Madrid street on November 9, 2023, but survived. At the time there were worries the attack could have been motivated by the Catalan independence struggle, but when he woke after surgery, Vidal-Quadras himself blamed Iran for the attempted assassination.

The woman who has been arrested in the Netherlands this week is of Dutch nationality and was detained on a European Arrest Warrant issued by Spain, as reported by Spanish police sources.

She is reported to be around 30 years old, and originally from Morocco, and was said to be in Madrid following Vidal-Quadras at one point.

This is the fifth arrest made as part of the investigation into the attack, with a British woman, a French man and a Spaniard all having been detained over the plot too.

Naraya Gómez, a Spanish citizen and a convert to Islam, is said to have collaborated in the attack, while Mehrez Ayari, a Tunisian citizen who managed to flee and is wanted internationally, is purported to be the shooter. Naraya’s partner, a British woman, and a young Spaniard who was involved in the purchase of the motorbike used to flee the scene, were also arrested but later released with precautionary measures.

Subsequently, a Venezuelan national was arrested in Colombia last January when he tried to enter the country illegally. With a criminal record in Spain, he had been on the run for weeks, when he was identified together with a Moroccan as collaborators in the crime. Like the Tunisian Ayari, the Moroccan is still wanted.

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