The scandal erupted last year when dozens of pro-independence politicians in Catalonia said they had been victims of digital espionage by Madrid. The official authorities in no way reacted to the accusations, and after a while another scandal broke out. It turned out that the Prime Minister of Spain Pedro Sanchez and the Minister of Defense Margarita Robles themselves were victims of hackers, their mobile devices were hacked using the Pegasus program. Suspicion fell on Rabat, with whom Madrid’s relations had deteriorated earlier, but no evidence could be collected. Meanwhile, everyone was discussing this topic, the court refused to open a case of surveillance of Catalan politicians. In response, MEP Diana Riba and Spanish MP Josep Maria Jove, representing the Republican Left in Catalonia, filed an appeal, which was granted on Monday.
As part of the reopened case, the court asked the National Intelligence Center for data on whether the service used the same Pegasus program to spy on Catalan politicians, and also to explain in general why this software was purchased. The court also requested data on this from the Israeli company NSO Group, which developed it, but there is practically no chance of getting an answer. Previously, all such requests were ignored by the development company.
But the court expects to obtain at least confirmation of the very fact of the use of spyware by the director of the secret services, Esperanza Castelleiro, and whether it was done according to established procedure, that is, say with court sanction. All other data is classified, notes El Mundo.
As for the earlier decision refusing to prosecute, the Barcelona court called it “incoherent”, since the first instance refused to question the representatives of the National Intelligence Center.
“We have been calling for it for a long time, it is necessary for the courts to carry out a thorough investigation into Catalangate,” said Andreu Van den Einde, a lawyer for Catalan politicians.
As noted by the “Left Republicans of Catalonia” party, the Spanish government’s request for an investigation was supported by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.
