The Speaker of the Parliament of Catalonia denounces the “violation of rights” implicit in the espionage to which he has been subjected, and warns the Spanish government that an investigation “is a democratic requirement”
Uncovering and bringing the Spanish State’s foul-play to an end. That is the goal of the Speaker of Parliament Roger Torrent and Esquerra Republicana. After it was revealed by The Guardian and El País that the country’s second-highest authority has been the victim of Pegasus spyware, an espionage software that can only be acquired by governments and which gives access to all kinds of information via the victim’s mobile phone, Mr Torrent was very clear: “It is essential that this case should serve to end the dirty war by the Spanish State against Catalonia’s independence movement. We will do everything to establish the whole truth, and we will bring all the political and legal action to bear as necessary to get to the bottom of the matter,” he said forcefully.
In his statement to the press, the Speaker of Parliament said that this espionage violates the rights to “privacy, the secrecy of communications and the ability to develop a political project without illegitimate interference” and denounced that “it is evidence of the existence of a general cause against independence that degrades democracy.” He added that “it should concern all democrats, whether or not they are in favour of independence.”
Mr Torrent thus warned the leaders of the PSOE and Podemos that “it is a democratic requirement that the Spanish government investigate this” and addressed them directly: “What do you think of the fact that the speaker of a democratic parliament has been spied on for political reasons?” In this sense, Torrent warned that it is necessary to “investigate the facts and clarify responsibilities” because “it is inappropriate in a democracy that the state apparatus spies illegally on political opponents.” He also expressed support for the former CUP member of parliament Anna Gabriel, and ANC member Jordi Domingo, both pro-independence victims of this espionage.
Esquerra Republicana calls for the appearance of Ministers Grande-Marlaska and Robles
In line with Mr Torrent’s statement, the Esquerra Republicana parliamentary group in Madrid has called for the appearance of the Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, to answer questions in Congress on these cases of espionage. In addition, the group has also requested the appearance of the Minister of Defence, Margarita Robles, to whom Spain’s National Intelligence Center (CNI) reports.
