Three people were arrested on Tuesday in connection with an attack on a right-wing Spanish politician.
Earlier this month, unidentified men shot Alejandro Vidal-Quadras, 78, in broad daylight in a Madrid street on 9 November. The victim remains in hospital.
The National Police press office said two suspects were detained in the town of Lanjaron in southern Spain and a third in the town of Fuengirola. The police did not comment further on the incident.
None of the three is suspected of being the person who fired the shot at Vidal-Cuadras, who was helping Spain’s far-right Vox party. The shooting case is currently under investigation in a national court.
Earlier this month, police told The Associated Press that Vidal-Quadras had suggested he was targeted because of his ties to the Iranian political opposition. Investigators have been looking into the possibility of ties to Iran, but have not yet found evidence of that.
In October 2022, he was included in an Iranian sanctions list in retaliation for EU sanctions imposed on the country after the death in custody of a 22-year-old Iranian-Kurdish woman, Mahsa Amini.
Amini’s death triggered months of nationwide protests that represented one of the most fierce challenges to the Islamic republic since its establishment in 1979. The Iranian sanctions included a visa and entry ban on Vidal-Quadras and seizure of any property in Iran.
The PP leader, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, deplored the shooting and wished for his recovery. The Socialist leader, Pedro Sánchez, who returned to office as Spain’s prime minister last week, also conveyed his shock and sadness at the attack. He said:
I offer all my solidarity and my wishes for Alejo Vidal-Quadras’s swift recovery. We trust that the investigation will establish the facts and that those responsible will be arrested as soon as possible.
According to EFE news agency, the two arrested in Lanharon are a Spaniard and his partner, a British woman. The man detained in Fuengirola, also Spanish, was arrested in connection with a motorbike shooting, the agency said.
Vidal-Quadras was an important member of Spain’s conservative People’s Party and a member of the European Parliament before he helped found Vox. He has not been active in politics for several years but has maintained a public role as a media commentator and columnist.
