[Update]: Anonymous Strikes Back At Spanish Police

[Update]: Hactivist group Anonymous has brought down the website of the Spanish National Police in protest of the recent arrest of three Anonymous members charged with denial of service attacks against Sony and other entities.

Here's is the statement from Anonymous from the AnonOps Communications Blog:

Greetings Spanish Government:

We know you have heard of us; We are Anonymous. It has come to our attention that you deemed it necessary to arrest three of our fellow anons, ... which you claim to be the leaders of Anonymous and for their participation in DDoS attacks against various websites...

First and foremost, DDoSing is an act of peaceful protest on the Internet. The activity is no different than sitting peacefully in front of a shop denying entry. Just as is the case with traditional forms of protest...

Regardless of how many times you are told, you refuse to understand. There are no leaders of Anonymous. Anonymous is not based on personal distinction...

Arresting somebody for taking part in a DDoS attack is exactly like arresting somebody for attending a peaceful demonstration in their hometown. Anonymous believes this right to peacefully protest is one of the fundamental pillars of any democracy...

You have not detained three participants of Anonymous. We have no members and we are not a group of any kind. You have, however, detained three civilians expressing themselves...

You are providing us with the fuel, but now you must expect the fire.

[Original Story]: Three people possibly associated with the hactivist collective Anonymous have been arrested in Spain, and a server was recovered that was involved in an attack on Sony's PSN store, among others.

Spanish site Meristation has the report (via VG247) that the arrests were made in the cities of Barcelona, Valencia, and Almeria, but the Technical Investigation Brigade of the National Police, and the server was involved in denial of service attacks at: “Sony Playstation Store, BBVA, Bankia, ENEL and the governments of Egypt, Algeria, Libya, Iran, Chile, Colombia and New Zealand.” The trio have been charged with criminal damage, discovery and disclosure of secrets, and conspiracy.

The authorities began investigating Anonymous in October 2010 after the group claimed responsibility for an attack on the government's Ministry of Culture website after the government passed The Law of Sustainable Economy.

It's unknown if this is the trio directly responsible for the PSN attack that brought down Sony's service for close to a month at the end of June and into May, or if their attacks were separate.