Former Spanish head of intelligence agency to testify in court over espionage on Catalan president

A court in Barcelona has 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. 

Dismissed by the Spanish government in May 2022, Paz Esteban will give testimony on December 13, as the Spanish newspaper ElDiario.es first reported and the Catalan News Agency (ACN) later confirmed. 

On the same day, Catalan president Pere Aragonès will appear in front of the judge to ratify his complaint.  

The court also asked for more information from the Spanish Intelligence Agency (CNI), the Israeli cyberarms company NSO Group which develops the Pegasus software, and the Spanish Supreme Court to look into whether or not they authorized the espionage. 

This is the first case already going ahead in court and will result in, for the first time, a Spanish Intelligence Agency member testifying as someone under investigation.

Collaborate with justice

Catalan president Pere Aragonès hopes that the Spanish government, the Supreme Court, and the Spanish intelligence agency collaborate with the justice department on the Pegasus case.

Aragonès welcomed the decision to open an investigation into Paz Esteban, as he hopes he will have "the upmost interest of all Spanish authorities working with the judicial department," he said during a press conference on Monday in the government's headquarters.

"I could not believe to see any other way," he added.

60 pro-independence figures

Around 60 pro-independence figures were targeted by spyware over the span of several years, and many complaints have been issued since the scandal was first reported by The New Yorker magazine following an investigation led by CitizenLab. The same research body said that evidence pointed to perpetrators within the Spanish government. 

Between 2017 and 2020, the devices of at least 65 Catalan politicians and activists were reportedly targeted by a spying program. Victims included Catalan leaders, Members of the European Parliament, legislators, jurists, and members of civil society organizations. 

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.