Mohamed Harrak was arrested in April last year.

Mohamed Harrak was arrested in April last year. | Alejandro Sepúlveda

Majorca Daily Bulletin reporterPalma15/06/2017 00:00
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The prosecution service is calling for a ten-year prison sentence for Mohamed Harrak, the alleged jihadist who was arrested last year in Palma's Son Gotleu district. The service says that there is sufficient proof of his having used social networks to attract people to fight for so-called Islamic State. The charges do not include the preparation of any specific attack, but they point to the progressive radicalisation of the 28-year-old. Harrak is now due to be brought to trial, having been detained in a prison on the mainland.

The investigation has established that there were social-network contacts between Harrak and Islamist radicals in which he stated his intention to travel to Syria in order to fight with the "mujahideen of the caliphate" and to serve "Abu Bakr, who is the caliph". He is accused of recruitment activities for the terrorist organisation and of preparing his own trip to Iraq or Syria.

Highlighted by the prosecution are his training activities in airsoft groups and attempts to enlist with the army and with the French Foreign Legion. He also posted messages which celebrated terrorist attacks.

The date for the trial has yet to be set because of a defence demand regarding the IP address used by Harrak. The defence is also seeking to prove Harrak's argument that he had in fact used his account to infiltrate Islamist groups in order to collaborate with Spanish intelligence services. The investigation has found emails sent to the National Intelligence Centre (CNI) in which he offered himself as an informant, something which was turned down by the service.

The defence has also supplied emails that Harrak sent to the Guardia Civil in which he reported suspected drug trafficking activities in Son Gotleu. This, the defence claims, backs up its thesis that in some strange way he wanted to collaborate with the security services.

When he was arrested in April last year by the National Police, cocaine (22 grams of it) was seized along with computer equipment. There was also advice given by IS to "lone wolves" and autonomous cells. The police have looked into whether he was trafficking drugs as a means of financing possible operations.