The Diplomat
The Council of Europe has asked Spain to clarify, within three months, the alleged use of Pegasus, Candiru and other spying software for the “targeted surveillance of its own citizens”, namely Catalan pro-independence politicians (the so-called Catalangate case).
The draft resolution, authorized yesterday by the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights, drafted by Dutch MEP Pieter Omtzigt, EPP, and which is subject to amendments before its vote in the plenary session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) for final approval (which will take place between 9 and 13 October), expresses its concern about “the growing evidence that Pegasus and similar tools have been used illegally or for illegitimate purposes by several member states including against journalists, political opponents, human rights defenders and lawyers”.
Specifically, the text states that fourteen of the 46 member states of the Council of Europe, including Spain, “have acquired and used Pegasus for targeted surveillance of their own citizens”. It also warns that the use of spying programs should be limited to “really serious crimes” such as terrorism and, in any case, as a last resort to investigate real and genuine threats to national security and only against persons suspected of such acts. Therefore, it states that the use of these programs to discredit and silence political opponents may constitute a violation of human rights.
In the case of Spain, the report indicates that “65 people related to the Catalan independence movement were allegedly attacked with Pegasus or Candiru, 18 of whom were classified as legal targets by the Spanish authorities”. Besides, it regrets that Spain has not yet provided the information requested by the European Parliament at the beginning of 2023 after the uncovering of the Catalangate, in March 2022.
Therefore, the Council of Europe asks Spain to carry out “effective, independent and prompt investigations into all confirmed and suspected cases of spyware abuse” and to report to the Venice Commission – the Council of Europe’s advisory body on constitutional matters – and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on “the use of Pegasus, Candiru and the like within three months.”
It also asks Spain to impose appropriate sanctions, “criminal or administrative”, against those responsible for these abuses, to refrain from using national security or official secrets law to deny access to information to victims and to provide “redress to victims in cases of unlawful surveillance”.
Morocco and Israel
On the other hand, the report recalls, based on the conclusions of the European Parliament’s Commission on Pegasus, that the phones of the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, and several of his ministers (in addition to the President of France, Emmanuel Macron) were “allegedly infected with Pegasus by a third country”, in reference to Morocco. The document therefore urges Morocco (a Council partner country) to clarify, “within three months”, whether the country’s state authorities have used Pegasus for spying “on or outside its territory”, specifically against “targets within the jurisdiction of Council of Europe member states”.
It also urges Israel – the country from which Pegasus originates and which has observer status in the Assembly – to cooperate “fully with the investigations conducted by member states of the Council of Europe into the use of Pegasus and other spyware exported by Israel or sold by companies based in Israel”. On July 10, National Court Judge Jose Luis Calama closed the investigation into the use of Pegasus in Spain due to Israel’s “absolute” lack of legal cooperation.