MADRID (AP) — A Spanish judge has freed five Algerians arrested on suspicion of financing an al-Qaida-linked group in North Africa, citing a lack of evidence.

But the judge also ordered the men to stay in Spain and report to judicial authorities twice a month.

The men are being investigated for alleged logistical and financial support to al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, or AQIM. The arrests took place Tuesday in the northern Basque and Navarra regions.

The Algerians, aged between 36 and 49 years old, have not been charged.

National Court judge Fernando Grande-Marlaska said in a statement received Sunday by The Associated Press that there was no evidence the men had sent "important sums to Algeria" or that the alleged recipients were "persons related to terrorist activity."