Catalan president informs EU Justice Commissioner Reynders of judicial novelties in Catalangate

Catalan president Pere Aragonès informed the European Union’s Commissioner of Justice, Didier Reynders, about the judicial novelties regarding the Pegasus case, known as Catalangate, as well as the officiality of the Catalan language in the European Union, on Wednesday. 

In a post on social media X, formerly known as Twitter, Aragonès emphasized his "commitment to eradicate cyber-espionage and protect fundamental rights."

On Monday, a court in Barcelona called on the former head of Spain's intelligence agency to give testimony on the Pegasus case, which saw Catalan president Pere Aragonès targeted with spyware amid the Catalangate espionage scandal. 

This meeting is one of many that Aragonès is participating in as part of Catalonia’s relationship with the European Union. On Thursday, the Catalan president will meet with the European Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights, Nicolas Schmit, who is in Barcelona participating in a European conference.

Learn more about Catalangate by listening to our Filling the Sink podcast episode from May 2022 and read a more in-depth article on the consequences of the espionage scandal. 

Catalangate 

Catalangate is the name given by Citizen Lab, a research group based in the University of Toronto that reports on high-tech human rights abuses. They are responsible for launching an investigation into the espionage of several Catalan pro-independence politicians, activists and their close associates.  

It is "the largest forensically documented cluster of such attacks and infections on record," according to the New Yorker article published on April 18 of last year.  

Among the targets were Catalan president Pere Aragonès and every former Catalan president leading back to 2010. 

Victims' phones were infected using spyware programs Pegasus and Candiru. The former is known internationally for its previous infections of renowned people, such as murdered Saudi Arabian journalist Jamal Khashoggi and members of Rwanda’s opposition party. 

Candiru, founded by former NSO Group employees, is not as well known but performs a similar function as Pegasus.