Spain's prisons are breeding grounds for Islamic militants, a judge has warned after filing terrorism charges against 17 people who allegedly plotted to ram a truck packed with explosives into the National Court and blow up the building.
The National Court is a hub for Spain's investigations into Islamic terrorism, and the 17 charged late on Saturday wanted "to end the lives of those inside" -- mainly judges and anti-terror investigators -- "and destroy archives which concern `mujahidin brothers,'" Judge Baltasar Garzon said in a court order.
The plot was organized by a cell of Islamic extremists known as the "Martyrs for Morocco." The cell was allegedly set up by Mohamed Achraf, a suspected militant, while he served time in a Spanish prison for credit card fraud between 1999 and 2002, Garzon said.
Achraf, who is currently being held in Switzerland, and other suspects were allegedly able to set up the cell by making "the most of the gaps and areas not under control in the prison system," he said. Achraf was not among those charged on Saturday.
Sixteen of the suspects, Moroccans and Algerians, were charged with belonging to an armed group. The 17th, a Spaniard, was charged with collaboration. None have been offered bail, although the charges are temporary and do not constitute a formal indictment.
Garzon filed the charges after quizzing 18 suspects on Friday and Saturday.
Eight of the detainees were arrested this week in connection with the alleged plot, while 10 were already in jail for separate offenses.
The ABC reported on Sunday that Spain's prison director, Mercedes Gallizo, has ordered a detailed report on all prison incidents involving Muslim inmates and would be meeting with prison authorities to discuss how to tighten controls.
Achraf had ordered the bombing of the National Court to be carried out as soon as possible, and arranged to acquire 1,000kg of explosives, Garzon said. Achraf and two of those charged on Saturday were to carry out the suicide attack.
Garzon said the cell had links with other Islamic terrorists, including the group believed to be behind the March 11 train bombings in Madrid that killed 191.
Achraf, who was arrested on Aug. 28 for entering Switzerland without identifying documents, was able to organize the plot because he could make telephone calls and send uncensored mail from the Swiss jail where he was awaiting deportation.
Letters confiscated from him include several from Mohammed Salameh, who was convicted in the 1993 World Trade Center bombings that killed six people and injured more than 1,000, El Pais said.
Achraf is believed to be Algerian and to have had ties to the Armed Islamic Group, which launched a violent campaign in 1992 to topple the Algerian government and set up an Islamic state.
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