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INPRIMATU
CNI purchased the Pegasus spying programme for EUR 6 million
  • The purchase of the program took place between 2010 and 2015, as reported this Wednesday El País. This program has been used to spy on the mobile phones of a total of 65 independence leaders, most of them Catalan independence politicians. They have also been monitored by EH members Bildu Arnaldo Otegi and Ion Iñarritu, who are still in prison.
Xabier Letona Biteri @xletona 2022ko apirilaren 20a

This program, which goes into mobile phones, is run by the Israeli company NSO Group and is known for selling the spying product only to governments. That is why, when it has been used in the Spanish State, all eyes have been turned to the Government of Spain. The spokeswoman for the Spanish Government, Isabel Rodríguez, for her part, stressed that the Government had nothing to do with the case and that it did not spy in Spain without the permission of the courts. However, asked whether the CNI has anything to do with the issue, he replied that he cannot talk about it because it "affects the security of the state".

The Public Journal has already published a long time ago that this program was purchased by the National Police in 2014 to monitor the sovereign leaders of Catalonia. Eugenio Pino, commissioner of the police and his chief of staff, José Ángel Fuentes, was purchased at the order of the then-minister of the Interior of pp., Jorge Fernández Díaz.

Call to investigate the issue in the European Union

In the European Parliament, however, the Catalans have strongly denounced this issue and the European Commission has stated that it is unacceptable for EU Member States to illegally obtain data and communications from citizens, journalists and politicians through espionage programmes. Commission spokesman Johannes Bahrke pointed out that in order to guarantee fundamental rights states must control security services and that they should investigate the latest cases of spying.

Is the Spanish Government in danger?

The President of the Generalitat, Pere Aragonès, is also among the defendants and has stated that the attitude of the Spanish Government in the case will condition relations between the two governments. The Catalan independence parties will ask in Congress to set up a committee of inquiry on the matter, and Aragonès has threatened to dismantle support for the government if the PSOE does not support it.

Dismantling would be the end of the legislature if Pedro Sánchez did not link other supports. According to Aragonès at RAC1, both would be seen on Wednesday during a visit to a company in Barcelona, but Sánchez has not finally come to it.

Junts, for her part, calls for a tougher attitude towards the Spanish Government and the President of Parlament, Laura Borràs, has called for the resignation of Pedro Sánchez and the ministers Fernando Grande-Marlaska and Margarita Robles. In his capacity as Minister of Defence, the latter will appear in the Congress of Deputies for explanations.

Arnaldo Otegi turns back the 78 Regime

Arnaldo Otegi has announced in his Twitter account the following: "They outlawed us, tortured us, prevented us from presenting ourselves to the elections, made a dirty war and committed state killings. Is there anyone who is surprised to spy on us? The scheme of 78 in the rough. Ethical subsoil." As you know, at the hardest moments of the Basque conflict, the Abertzale left was spied again and again, with and without judicial authorization, by the security forces and the intelligence services of the Spanish State.

Parliament Jon Iñarritu said that "it is clear that there is a government behind the issue." The Spanish State wants to flee the issue, but it is he who has ordered this attack. We will present initiatives to clarify the issue."