A crime to "warn" the Spanish government: this is how the attack on Vidal-Quadras was plotted

The order to attack Alejo Vidal-Quadras was a response to his political activity supporting the Iranian resistance, as well as to warn the Spanish government that it should not harbor the dissident movement that the ayatollahs' regime classifies as terrorists. This is the conclusion reached by National Court judge Santiago Pedraz after a 20-month investigation, which has just concluded with the prosecution of eight alleged members of the organization for membership in a criminal organization and attempted terrorist murder. Among them is Sami Bekal, the fugitive mastermind of the attack.

The investigation into the attack has failed to pinpoint the X beyond Sami Bekal, whom Tehran has given shelter to, according to police sources. In the indictment, Pedraz explains that "unidentified individuals" commissioned Bekal to carry out a "mission" that was none other than to kill the former president of the Popular Party in Catalonia. From there, the investigator provides a detailed account of the events leading up to November 9, 2023, the morning Vidal-Quadras was shot at point-blank range just meters from his home in Madrid.

The first step in carrying out the attack was to bring Mehrez Ayari, the hitman linked to the Mocro Mafia, to Spain. He arrived in Barcelona on August 26th with a ticket purchased by his brother Larbi, who had also been arrested. He then flew to Malaga, where the mastermind of the plot was waiting for him. Another of those arrested, Nafis Din, arranged for a hotel on the Costa del Sol for the two to stay while the plan took shape. Pedraz details everything from the purchase of the motorcycle Ayari used to accosted the victim before shooting him to the rental of vehicles used for surveillance in the days leading up to the attack, including the acquisition of the cameras hidden in a shoebox outside the home of one of the founders of Vox.

The organization's members met in Granada and Malaga before traveling to Madrid. The day Vidal-Quadras's address was certified, as stated in the court order, was October 29, 2023. That day, after he himself announced it on social media, he attended the demonstration held in Colón Square against the amnesty for the leaders of the independence process that was being plotted at the time. The mastermind of the plan, the hitman, and Chahinez Kadid, who was also arrested, followed him. Ayari sent a video to his brother in which Vidal-Quadras was recorded protesting against the amnesty. Once the address was secured, surveillance began in early November.

Nafis Din Allouch, Sami Bekal, Larbi Ayari, and Naraya Gómez were responsible for the tasks related to the acquisition of the weapon, according to Judge Pedraz. They had problems with their first weapon.

On the morning of November 9, Gómez met with the hitman at 9:32 a.m. in a hotel in Fuenlabrada, south of the capital. They left the hotel at 10:10 a.m., heading for the politician's home. He followed him while Vidal-Quadras was strolling through El Retiro Park, until, on the way back from his home, he shot him in the face. The perpetrator escaped on the motorcycle Gómez was driving, which they set on fire with gasoline before switching to a car, which they used to travel to Portugal. By then, the National Police's General Information Commissariat was already leading the investigation: the pieces were falling apart one by one.

Pedraz states in his ruling that on November 14, five days after the crime, the Fars news agency—affiliated with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard—issued a warning to Pedro Sánchez's government stating that "all countries that host terrorist groups [referring to the People's Mujahideen of Iran (MEK)] will face serious consequences." This is something the National Court judge directly links to the attack. This warning, Pedraz continues, was formulated by emphasizing that "the Spanish government would do better not to be an actor in an MEK scenario (...) Spain should know that hosting the MEK or playing on its territory would have serious consequences for it."