“The establishment of this commission will help us clarify the facts, find out what happened and who organized it,” says Esquerra’s deputy spokeswoman for the parliamentary group
Esquerra Republicana applauds the establishment of the CatalanGate commission on Wednesday with the deputy spokesperson of Esquerra’s parliamentary group Meritxell Serret as the chair, and the leader of the parliamentary group Josep Maria Jové as the member for Esquerra Republicana.
Ms Serret, who after three years in exile is to be tried by Spain’s Supreme Court, and Mr Jové, whose case was opened at the Supreme Court in Catalonia, both regarding the independence referendum on October 1, 2017 are on the list of victims of Pegasus spyware, which a CitizenLab investigation revealed was used to hack into the mobile phones of around sixty persons in Catalonia, most of which are associated with the independence movement.
“We are victims of mass espionage. The state has violated our rights and those responsible must be held accountable. This commission will help to clarify the facts, find out what happened and who organized it,” assured the deputy spokeswoman. “Responsibilities must be meted and we demand guarantees this will not be repeated,” she added.
Last May 3, Esquerra introduced together with centre-right Junts, and left-wing CUP and Comuns a proposal for a parliamentary commission to investigate espionage by the State on elected officials and pro-independence activists, lawyers, journalists and their relatives with the Pegasus and Candiru spyware programs.
The parliamentary commission of inquiry into this mass espionage arose as a joint reaction of the Catalan pro-sovereignty groups to the veto of an inquiry by the Spanish Congress, with the votes of the conservative People’s Party, alongside socialist PSOE, far-right VOX and Spanish nationalist liberals Ciudadanos.
The commission hold hearings for one year and the aim is to ascertain the details of these intrusions by the Spanish state through its CNI intelligence agency and other public bodies, and an attempt will be made to determine the officials who have taken the decisions and their motivation. The commission findings should lead to relevant legislative and judicial acts, and in the event that responsibilities are established, to the relevant political, criminal or civil proceedings.
