2 Barcelona Suspects Are Charged With Terrorism Offenses
In his decision, Judge Andreu said that Mr. Aalla could not be kept in prison because the evidence against him was not "sufficiently solid." Mr. Aalla was the official owner of the Audi car
that was used in the attack in Cambrils, but the judge said that the investigation suggested that the main user of the car was Mr. Aalla’s brother, Youssef, who died in the house explosion.
22, 2017
BARCELONA, Spain — A Madrid judge charged two of four suspects in last week’s attacks in Spain with terrorism offenses on Tuesday, after a day of questioning
that seemed to confirm that the group had initially planned a more ambitious strike.
The four suspects — the only survivors of a terrorism cell
that killed 15 people in and near Barcelona — were transferred overnight to Madrid, where they appeared before Fernando Andreu, the judge from Spain’s national court in charge of the case.
The judge’s ruling also provided further details about how the assailants planned their attacks, including the fact
that part of the group bought an ax and four knives in a store in the hours between the first assault in Barcelona and the attack in Cambrils.
But court officials told the Spanish news media that at least one of the suspects had confirmed
that the cell had planned a larger attack that included detonating a bomb at landmark monuments and churches in Barcelona.
The court appearances came a day after the police killed Younes Abouyaaqoub, the last
unaccounted-for member of the terrorism cell, in the countryside west of Barcelona.
The car was then used in last week’s attack in Cambrils, which ended when the police killed the five occupants of the car.
