Spain: 3 detained in probe into attack on politician

Three persons were taken into custody by Spanish police on Tuesday as they looked into an attempted murder of the former leader of Catalonia’s conservative People’s Party. According to the source, the nationality of the third suspect was still unknown, while the other two were citizens of Spain. If they have any connections to other nations, the police are investigating. At 1:30 p.m. on November 9, Alejo Vidal-Quadras was shot in the face on a pavement in the affluent Salamanca area of central Madrid by a hooded shooter who then ran away. The bullet went through the 78-year-old conservative politician’s jaw, but he survived the incident and is apparently still in the hospital. The case investigation process is overseen by an anti-terrorism court. A spokeswoman for the court was unable to respond right away. Vidal-Quadras was the founder of the far-right Vox party in Spain as well as the former leader of the center-right People’s Party (PP) in Catalonia. From 2009 to 2014, he was also the vice-president of the European Parliament. He has been a devoted supporter of the opposition group operating in exile, the Committee of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, which has accused the Iranian government of being behind the attack. (With agency inputs)