Spanish authorities are pledging full transparency as they launch inquiries into allegations that the phones of dozens of supporters of Catalan independence were hacked with powerful and controversial spyware only sold to government agencies.
An internal probe by the country's intelligence agency, a special parliamentary commission to share its results, and a separate investigation by Spain's ombudsman will be arranged to show that central authorities in Madrid have nothing to hide," the minister for presidency and relations with parliament, Flix Bolaos, announced Sunday.
Bolaos also said the government remained committed to negotiations with separatists on the future of the restive northeastern region of Catalonia.
We want to recover trust by resorting to dialogue and to transparency, the minister said in Barcelona, following a meeting with the regional chief of the Catalan presidency, Laura Vilagr.
The government has a clean conscience and we have nothing to hide," Bolaos added.
Pere Aragons, a pro-independence left-wing politician leading Catalonia's government, said last week that it was putting on hold relations with Spain's national authorities after cybersecurity experts in Canada revealed massive political espionage.
Aragons accused Spain's intelligence agency, known as CNI in Spanish, of the alleged hacking.
Citizen Lab, an experts group linked to the University of Toronto, said traces of Pegasus and other spyware by two Israeli companies, NSO Group and Candiru, were identified in devices of 65 people, including elected officials, activists, lawyers, European lawmakers and others.
Most infiltration took place between 2017, when a banned referendum on Catalan independence caused a deep political crisis in Spain, and ended in mid-2020, when Citizen Lab revealed the first cases of the alleged espionage.
The Spanish government has not denied nor confirmed whether it uses Pegasus or other hard-to-detect spyware, saying that any surveillance is conducted under the supervision of judges.
Rounds of talks between the central government in Madrid and Catalan regional authorities have yielded some progress in solving some of the separatists' long-term grievances, but have not resolved the fundamental issues of Catalonia's status within Spain.
Polling and recent elections show that the share of Catalans supporting independence grew since last decade's financial crisis, but have since 2017 remained divided, with majorities fluctuating recently between those in favor or against breaking away from Spain.
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Dear Reader,
Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance.
We, however, have a request.
As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed.
Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard.
Digital Editor
RECOMMENDED FOR YOU