Pegasus: Citizen Lab group reveals spying on Catalan separatists

Around 60 Catalan separatists have been spied on through Israel's Pegasus program over the past five years, according to an investigation by Citizen Lab.

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Dozens of Catalan politicians and activists have been spied on by the Pegasus program in recent years, according to an investigation made public on Monday April 18 by the Canadian-based Citizen Lab expert group.

The Spanish secret services are implicated, and the case outrages Catalonia.

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With our correspondent in Barcelona,

The current Catalan president, several former presidents, their lawyers or even the president of the regional parliament... In total, around sixty separatists have been spied on through the Israeli Pegasus program over the past five years.

This is revealed

, a group of cybersecurity experts from the University of Toronto, which was made public this Monday in a report by The

.

The text directly implicates the CNI, the Spanish intelligence service, and recalls that only state governments can acquire the spy computer program which also allows the reading of messages and the starting of the camera and from the microphone of infected cell phones.

For now, only the Spanish Interior Ministry has denied being behind this espionage.

But the Catalans are demanding accountability and calling the case shameful state espionage.

Several have announced press conferences this Tuesday to denounce this "Catalangate" and demand answers from the Spanish government.

The case is already rekindling tensions between Madrid and Barcelona, ​​after several months of calm.

An investigation by @citizenlab taken up in this article reveals that more than 60 Catalan separatists have been spied on with Pegasus for 5 years.

The article calls into question the CNI, ES intelligence service and recalls that only state govts can acquire this malware.

https://t.co/dCrLbFDPo0

— Elise Gazengel (@EliseGaz) April 18, 2022

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