• Thanks to Irídia’s investigative work, this is the first case where both the Spanish State and the NSO Group company are being investigated for espionage using Pegasus.

The former director of the National Intelligence Centre (CNI), Paz Esteban, three executives from the NSO Group corporate structure, as well as the company itself, have been charged with espionage using Pegasus against lawyer Andreu Van den Eynde, a case led by Irídia – Centre for the Defence of Human Rights. This case becomes the first in which both a former head of state intelligence services and high-ranking officials of the company that developed Pegasus are under judicial investigation.

Although Esteban had already been charged in other cases related to Pegasus, this is the first time she has been charged in the context of the case initiated by Irídia. The ruling also summons the three NSO Group executives and includes them in the European investigation order. These executives had already been charged in the lawsuit filed by Irídia, but until now, no effective action had been taken against them. This progress has been made possible thanks to an expert report on the corporate structure of NSO Group provided by the human rights organization.

This decision opens the door to a new opportunity for the declassification of information, a process that depends on the Council of Ministers and has, in most cases, been blocked by the 1968 Francoist Official Secrets Law. Despite some partial declassifications, the State has still not clarified this illegal espionage case. Since the publication of the Citizen Lab and Amnesty International report, which uncovered the espionage of 65 individuals linked to the independence movement using Pegasus, the Council of Ministers has had over a hundred opportunities to decree this measure, which remains essential for the affected individuals who continue asking for answers.

A serious attack on the rule of law and democracy

The use of Pegasus against civil society representatives and other political actors, including lawyers, constitutes a direct attack on the rule of law and democracy. Espionage conducted opaquely and without judicial guarantees, supported by a weak legislative framework like the CNI Law, severely violates human rights, with both individual and collective impacts.

For years, Irídia has demanded a thorough and impartial investigation that not only examines the responsibility of NSO Group but also the involvement of the Spanish State in this espionage case. This investigation must include both the 18 cases where judicial authorization was granted and the 47 cases where it was not.