(Reuters) Spain’s High Court charged eight individuals on Wednesday with the attempted assassination of former right-wing politician Alejo Vidal-Quadras over his ties to an Iranian opposition group and support for dissident groups.
Vidal-Quadras, 80, a founder of Spain’s far-right Vox party, was shot in the face by a motorbike pillion passenger as he walked through Madrid’s upscale Salamanca neighbourhood on November 9, 2023. The bullet passed through his jaw.
Investigating judge Santiago Pedraz said the assault was ordered by unidentified individuals seeking revenge for Vidal-Quadras’ advocacy for resistance to Iran’s clerical government.
“Unidentified individuals instructed members of the criminal organisation … to carry out ‘a mission’ consisting of ending the life of Alejo Vidal-Quadras,” the judge said in a court document seen by Reuters.
