MADRID — Three men whose social media posts allegedly encouraged extremist attacks against French targets are in custody in Spain after Spanish police and the European Union’s crime agency traced them to the southern city of Granada.
The men threatened violent attacks against French people and French interests abroad after French magazine Charlie Hebdo republished caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad last September, Spanish police and Europol said in statements Thursday.
The caricatures enraged many Muslims, who found them blasphemous.
Europol described the three men in Granada as “a terrorist cell.”
Spanish police said the trio focused their efforts on persuading young people to carry out violent acts, creating specific online content directed at them.
When police arrested them in Granada earlier this week, they also found “very valuable documentation” for their investigations, the Spanish statement said.
A judge on Thursday ordered them to be remanded in custody.
