Spanish authorities must carry out a thorough investigation into the alleged use of the Pegasus and Candiru spy programs against Catalan public figures and activists in Spain following the 2017 independence campaign, experts from Spain said on Thursday. ‘UN.

Between 2017 and 2020, the mobile phones of more than 60 people in the Catalan separatist orbit were infected by the Israeli spy program Pegasus, according to a report by the Canadian organization Citizen Lab, published last April.

Among the victims were Catalan leaders, members of the European Parliament, lawmakers, lawyers and members of civil society organizations, UN experts said.

“The Spanish authorities must carry out a full, fair and effective investigation into these allegations, publish the results and prevent any unlawful interference with the fundamental rights of Catalan minority activists in Spain,” the experts insisted.

Tensions between Catalonia’s independence movement and the central government came to a head in October 2017, when separatists staged an illegal referendum on self-determination and then unsuccessfully and unilaterally declared the region’s independence.

The group said that at the end of 2022, it contacted the Spanish government to discuss this issue. The executive responded, advising that an investigation was ongoing and therefore could not comment on the matter.

“We await with interest the results of the judicial investigation,” the experts said.

The group expressed concern about the scope and sophistication of the “spyware” and that it is being used against “minority leaders and activists who have not engaged in any violent activity”, which could “lead to greater self-censorship”. .

They also reiterated their “call for a global moratorium on the sale and transfer of surveillance technology” and urged Spain to join this initiative.

bur-jvb/mb/tt/rpr

© Agence France-Presse