The resolution places Spain on a par with Poland, Hungary and Azerbaijan and obliges the authorities to report within three months on the use it has made of spyware

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe–PACE urges the Spanish state to carry out an effective inquiry and to apply appropriate sanctions in all cases of abuse of Pegasus and other spyware.

The plenary body thus ratifies the report by the Council of Europe’s Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights published at the beginning of September, which placed Spain on a par with countries such as Poland, Hungary and Azerbaijan and in which Esquerra Republicana senator Laura Castel, the only pro-independence member of the PACE, played an active part.

In its resolution, the Parliamentary Assembly specifically urges Spain to:

1. Inform both the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and the Venice Commission on the use of Pegasus and other similar spyware within the next three months.
2. Carry out an effective and independent investigation into all cases of abuse, including those confirmed and unconfirmed, and make reparations for the harm caused to victims.
3. Refrain from resorting to general secrecy rules to deny access to information on the use of spyware.
4. Apply appropriate sanctions, whether criminal or administrative, in such cases of abuse.

91 members voted in favour, 16 voted against, and 4 abstained. “The vast majority of the Assembly has sided with the rapporteur, who has taken a very forceful position against the amendments presented by the member for the Peoples’ Party which sought to dilute the text,” Ms Castel explained on coming out of the plenary session.

"This resolution is very important because it places Spain on a par with Hungary, Poland and Azerbaijan and adds considerable pressure on the Spanish state to carry out an effective inquiry into Catalangate,” emphasized Ms Castel, making a point of the fact that “now the states have this on the table; they have three months from now to inform the Assembly and the Venice Commission on their use of Pegasus and other spyware.”

Laura Castel was one of the first members of the PACE to warn of the existence of illegal cyberespionage by the Spanish state, after the infiltrations into the telephones Esquerra’s Ernest Maragall and Roger Torrent became public. Since the investigation into the use and abuse of Pegasus began, she has been providing the rapporteur in charge of the report with extensive information on Catalangate and has met with him on several occasions.