Spanish police have arrested a man suspected of planning a gas attack
on marchers protesting against Pope Benedict's visit to Madrid, which
begins on Thursday.
The accused, a 24-year-old Mexican chemistry student, was arrested
after posting messages on the internet saying he intended to attack the
march.
Police have said the man, who has not been named, planned to
release "suffocating gases" and other chemicals.
A pen drive and
notebook containing information about chemical processes not related to
his studies were found in his flat, police said.
A spokeswoman would not
comment on whether investigators believed he was capable of the attack.
The protest march on Tuesday evening in central Madrid was organised
by an association of secularists, atheists and freethinkers, in
conjunction with Christian Networks, to condemn the visit – said to be
costing the city some €60m (£53m) at a time when Madrid faces high
unemployment and austerity measures.
The protesters complain that the government is contributing €25m to
the cost of a religious festival.
Although the majority of Spaniards are
nominally Catholic, Spain has no official state religion.
Two hundred white confession booths have been installed in Madrid's
Buen Retiro park as pilgrims from more than 100 countries descend on the
city.
The archbishop of Madrid, Antoni María Rouco Varela, has urged
pilgrims to join the priesthood in order to stem the tide of "rampant
relativism."
He gave mass from an altar adorned with an image of the
Virgin of Almudena, the patron saint of Madrid, and a flask of Pope John
Paul II's blood.
The late pope, Benedict's predecessor, was beatified
in May.