The conflict between the Spanish central government and Catalonia’s separatists over the Pegasus wiretapping scandal is coming to a head.
Catalan head of government Pere Aragones on Wednesday threatened to withdraw parliamentary support for Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s Spanish minority government in Madrid if he does not quickly identify those responsible for illegally spying on Catalan separatist leaders.
Spain’s ruling coalition of Socialists Sánchez (PSOE) and left-wing Podemos have only a weak majority in Madrid’s parliament, which depends, among other things, on Aragonés’ left-wing separatist republicans, ERC. Bildu’s Basque separatists would likely follow suit as well.
“If no one takes responsibility, it will be difficult to guarantee parliamentary stability,” Aragonés said in an interview with Rac1 radio. He demands an immediate clarification of Prime Minister Sanchez’s wiretapping scandal.
put relationships on hold
As early as Tuesday, Aragonés threatened to suspend most of his institutional ties with Spain until the central government clarified allegations of spying against separatist politicians. According to a report by Canadian research group Citizen Lab, between 2017 and 2020, the cell phones of at least 63 Catalan separatist leaders were hacked and tapped using Israeli spy software Pegasus, Spanish media reported. Israeli software maker NSO’s wiretapping system, which can be used to spy on all cell phone data, is sold exclusively to governments and state agencies.
The Spanish central government rejects all allegations. Spain is a country governed by the rule of law, “in which we do not spy, eavesdrop on conversations or conduct wiretapping, unless this is done within the scope of the law,” said government spokeswoman Isabel Rodríguez.
Meanwhile, separatists in Catalonia suspect that the Spanish secret service CNI is behind the spying. Government spokeswoman Rodríguez declined to comment, citing “national security.”