Spain: Police question head of Islamic body in terror probe

MADRID – Spain’s National Police says it has briefly detained and questioned the highest-ranking representative of the Muslim community in Spain as part of a terrorism investigation.

Aiman Adlbi heads the Islamic Commission of Spain, or CIE, the organization that oversees everything from Muslim education to religious services in the country’s more than 1,600 mosques and Muslim cultural communities.

A police spokeswoman, who wasn’t authorized to be named in media reports, said Wednesday that Adlbi was arrested late Tuesday and released after being questioned. She said that the arrest was motivated by “possible terrorism crimes.”

The arrest is connected to a 2019 judicial investigation that resulted in the arrests of at least 10 people – nine Spaniards and a Syrian national – who were accused of funding alleged extremist operations in Syria and other conflict zones.

The Islamic Commission of Spain didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.