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THE POLICIA NACIONAL have arrested three men who burst into a Villareal mosque and threatened the congregation.
The detained trio are said to be members of a neo-Nazi radical skinhead group and have been accused of hate crimes and trespass.
A police statement said that one of the men had previously had a fight with a group of North African men in which an item of clothing had been torn.
The three men decided to go to the mosque to demand financial compensation for the damaged clothing.
They entered the building shouting and threatening to ‘blow it up’ if they did not get what they wanted.
The skinheads prevented the start of a prayer session and refused to leave despite being repeatedly asked to do so and threatened to return every day if their demands were not met.
They only departed when they realised the Policia Nacional were coming with two of the detainees having been previously involved in similar incidents.
Villareal mayor Jose Benlloch condemned what happened and has contacted local Islamic community leaders to show his support for members of the mosque.
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