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COSTA BLANCA SUR / MURCIA FREE Vol. 4 Issue 104 www.theolivepress.es 30th November - 13th December 2023
Terror probe hell ‘Full on and stressful’ ordeal for British family after daughter is dragged into terror probe A BRITISH expat family has been torn apart after their ‘vibrant’ and ‘model-esque’ daughter was accused of helping to carry out a terrorist attack in Spain. On the surface, Sasha Brooks is a typical young woman enjoying life in the sun, regularly posting selfies on nights out in Marbella and Granada with her friends on Instagram. With holidays in Ibiza, Mallorca and Australia, she wears stylish clothes and is the ‘life and soul of the party’ on frequent nights out. But her world came crashing down when
EXCLUSIVE By Laurence Dollimore
she was arrested alongside her Spanish boyfriend, Naraya Gomez, at a home they share in the quaint town of Lanjaron, Granada, just an hour inland from the Costa del Sol. They were sequestered to Madrid before facing a judge, where they were charged with aiding the assassination attempt of far-right politician Alejo Vidal-Quadras. The 78-year-old was shot in the face by a hitman on a motorbike outside his home in the posh neighbourhood of Salamanca in Madrid - which boasts football players, Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem as residents. Last night Spain issued an international arrest warrant for the suspected shooter, named as 37-year-old Tunisian Mehrez Ayari. Following Sasha and Naraya’s arrests, Lanjaron, a tiny town of just 3,000 people, was turned into a media circus. Before Sasha was dragged before a judge, her mother, Angie Brooks, a financial advisor, told the Olive Press: “Spanish reporters have been hounding us, banging on my door all night and morning. “They have reported so many lies about my daughter.” After her court appearance her mother said Sasha was ‘exhaustLOVELY COUPLE: Naraya and ed’. Sasha are being investigated She added she had been through an ‘ord e a l ’ , branding the episode ALL YOUR LEGAL ‘stressful’ and ISSUES DEALT WITH! ‘full on’. Compare funerals “I’ve had Here to help with your to come Plans cover the life in Spain including up to Mawhole of Spain drid to wills, residency, help her Interest free payment plans as much tax returns, buying from €2,250 or as little
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as possible,” said Brooks, who runs a an anti-fraud advice company, Pension Life, where her daughter and boyfriend Naraya had been working. “It’s been pretty full on and it’s now up to the judge to decide whether to charge WORRIED: Mum them or Angie while (above) Naraya’s dad Sirio not.” While her mother later insisted she had not been charged, Sasha had her passport taken off her after being released on bail. She must appear before the court every 15 days and is forbidden from leaving Spain as the investigation continues. Various Spanish newspapers reported that both Sasha and Naraya were still being investigated in connection to the attempted murder. Naraya was refused bail and sent to prison due to the overwhelming evidence against him. He is said to have recently converted to Islam, specifically following the Shiite sect favoured by the ayatollahs of Iran. Vidal-Quadras is convinced the Middle Eastern nation is the mastermind behind the hit, after its ruling elite listed him as a ‘terrorist’ last October due to his years of harsh criticisms against the country. Naraya, 26, is accused of hiring the contract killer before travelling to a hotel in Madrid with him on the eve of the attack.
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‘EXHAUSTED’: Sasha Brooks was dragged to Madrid following her arrest in Granada
According to police, Gomez followed the Frenchman in his car on the day of the shooting. After the deed was done, the alleged killer, who is also wanted for a murder in Paris, dumped his motorbike and set it on fire, before being picked up by Gomez in his car to make his getaway. According to police, Naraya’s blue hire car was seen on CCTV in Madrid’s Barrio Salamanca in the weeks running up to the attack, tracking Vidal-Quadras’s movements. The same car was found illegally parked in Lanjaron this week, leading to the couple’s arrest. Naraya’s father Sirio Gomez, a yoga master who lives in a new age commune just outside Lanjaron, insisted the charges were completely false. He told the Olive Press: “My son is completely innocent, See page 9 he is not a terrorist. “He is a good boy, a vegetarian, spiritual and a pacifist.”
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He said he last spoke to Naraya a few months ago and that he was excited to introduce his girlfriend Sasha to him. He added: “He was not related to politics, he worked for Sasha’s mother’s business. “He never converted to Islam, that is a lie, he is not a Muslim. He has judeo-Christian beliefs and an affinity with Israel!”
Alternative
Sirio lives in the so-called community of Benificio, just a 20-minute drive from Lanjaron. It’s known by locals as an ‘alternative community’, where people from across Europe come and go. The theory put forward by police has left expats and locals in Lanjaron in shock. One local Brit told the Olive Press: “They were a lovely couple, no one can believe it or understand it. “There is no motivation for them to do something like this, Sasha comes from a good family.” The investigation continues.