Police work at the site where Alejo Vidal-Quadras, former head of Spain’s People’s Party in the Catalonia region, was shot in the face, in Madrid, Spain, November 9, 2023. REUTERS/Nacho Doce/File Photo Acquire Licensing Rights
MADRID, Nov 21 (Reuters) – Spanish police on Tuesday detained three people in their investigation into a murder attempt on the former head of Spain’s conservative People’s Party in Catalonia.
One of the suspects was arrested in the southern port city of Malaga and the other two in Granada, a police source told Reuters, confirming early reports from news website El Confidencial and radio station Cadena SER.
Two of them were Spanish nationals and the third suspect’s nationality had not been determined yet, the source said.
Police are looking into whether they have links with foreign countries.
Alejo Vidal-Quadras was shot in the face on a sidewalk in the wealthy neighbourhood of Salamanca in central Madrid at 1:30 p.m. on Nov. 9 by a gunman wearing a helmet who fled on a motor bike.
The 78-year-old conservative politician survived the attack as the bullet passed through his jaw but is reportedly still in hospital.
An anti-terrorism court is in charge of case investigation. The court spokesperson was not immediately able to comment.
Vidal-Quadras is former head of the centre-right People’s Party (PP) in Catalonia and a founder of Spain’s far-right Vox party. He also served as European Parliament vice-president between 2009 and 2014.
He has been a staunch ally of the Committee of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, and exile opposition group that has blamed the Iranian government for the attack.
Reporting by Inti Landauro and Emma Pinedo; Editing by Alex Richardson
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