Spain • • • 🌿 Progressive

Fachada urbana en Madrid al amanecer con presencia policial genérica junto a un edificio de oficinas
Imagen alusiva de una calle de Madrid al amanecer con presencia policial genérica. · Ilustración generada para EPM

Police search Núcleo Nacional headquarters and arrest twelve people

Spain's National Police searched the Madrid headquarters of Núcleo Nacional from early Friday and arrested twelve people, including its spokesman and leader…

--- The context --- Núcleo Nacional is an organization with a neo-Nazi ideology that had set itself up as a political party this past summer in Spain. Most of its members are concentrated in Madrid, where the group keeps its headquarters, and its public activity had gained visibility in recent months with gatherings in several cities across the country. In February of this year, a mobilization by the group outside the Colegio La Inmaculada school in Gijón sparked a strong controversy. The atmosphere was tense because of the slogans of those attending, although the situation did not lead to charges or damage, and the subsequent dispute was mainly institutional in nature. --- The facts --- Spain's National Police have been searching the organization's headquarters since early this Friday, at number 5 María Tubau street, in Madrid's Las Tablas neighborhood, where officers remained for hours. Twelve arrests have been made in the operation, and homes of alleged leading figures of the group have also been searched. Among those arrested are the organization's spokesman and leader, Iván Rico Olivares, together with part of its leadership, according to the investigation sources cited. The actions have extended to Madrid, Asturias, Guadalajara, Valladolid, Pontevedra, Burgos and Alicante, with the collaboration of the General Information Commissariat and the Madrid headquarters of the National Police. All the alleged acts remain under investigation for now. --- The positions --- The investigation dates back to what happened in Gijón in February. After that mobilization, several students reported having suffered alleged assaults by members of the group, and the Provincial Information Brigade of Gijón opened an investigation at the request of the courts, which remains open. At the institutional level, the Asturian government at the time demanded forceful measures against this organization after the controversy in Gijón. The group, for its part, had called a demonstration for this Saturday that it intended to end at the PSOE headquarters on Ferraz street, and its promoters proposed mobilizing toward Ferraz from all corners of Spain and Europe. --- What remains unknown --- The specific charges against each detainee have not yet been made public, nor have the court decisions that may follow from the searches. It is also unknown whether the demonstration called for this Saturday will go ahead after the police operation, or what measures the authorities will take regarding the group's future activity. --- Unanswered questions --- What specific charges does each of the twelve detainees face, and when will they be brought before a judge? Will the demonstration called for this Saturday, ending on Ferraz street, ultimately take place? What consequences will this operation have for the activity of an organization that only this summer became a political party? --- EPM analysis --- The operation highlights the tension between freedom of political organization and the state's duty to respond to reports of assaults and public disorder. When a group formed as a party only months ago faces a search of this scale, every judicial step must be fully documented and supported, so that the institutional response is firm while also respecting the rights of those under investigation. 📌 EPM Take: In EPM's view, the search of the headquarters and the twelve arrests must be judged by the strength of the investigation behind them, not by the ideology of those under investigation. The reports filed by the students in Gijón deserve a serious institutional response, and that response will only be legitimate if it scrupulously respects the presumption of innocence and judicial oversight. The rule of law is defended by applying the law with guarantees, even against those who challenge it from extreme and radical positions.
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