Spanish authorities must fully investigate the alleged use of the Pegasus and Candiru spyware “to attack Catalan public figures and activists in Spain following the 2017 independence campaign,” three UN human rights experts* said Thursday in a statement.
Between 2017 and 2020, the devices of at least 65 politicians and activists were “the subject of a complex and sophisticated spy program,” the rapporteurs said**.
“Following the referendum for the independence of Catalonia in 2017, the Spanish authorities arrested the leaders of the Catalan independence movement on charges of sedition,” they explained.
According to the NSO Group, the Israeli company that owns Pegasus, the spyware was sold to governments as a law enforcement tool. The National Intelligence Center of Spain would be one of the clients of the NSO Group, according to the allegations.
Possible self-censorship
UN experts said they were particularly concerned about the fact that it was used for a long period of time.
They are also concerned that the widespread use of this type of spyware could lead to increased self-censorship, which would have a chilling effect on the enjoyment of the rights to freedom of expression and assembly.
They recalled that minorities are specifically protected by international and European human rights standards, and these programs may constitute a serious violation of these rules.
In addition, they are concerned about interference in the privacy of correspondence and the right to equality of all citizens before the law.
The experts said that according to the allegationsmany victims were targeted through text messages designed to trick them and included highly personalized official notifications from Spanish government entities.
The experts give as an example a message that included the real official tax identification number of one of the victims, “which suggests that the attackers had access to this information.”
National Art Museum of Catalonia, Barcelona, Spain
Moratorium on espionage programs
In a letter dated October 24, 2022the experts contacted the Government of Spain on this matter, which responded on December 22, 2022informing that the investigations were ongoing and they could not rule on cases pending judicial investigation.
After carrying out the investigations, the authorities must publish the results and stop any illegal interference with the fundamental rights of the Catalan activists, the experts said.
In the statement, the rapporteurs reiterate their call for a global moratorium on the sale and transfer of surveillance technology, until its use in accordance with human rights is guaranteed, and they urge Spain to join the this global moratorium.
*The experts are: Fernand de Varennes, Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues; Clement Nyaletsossi Voule, Special Rapporteur on freedom of peaceful assembly and of associationIrene Kahn, Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression.
The special rapporteurs are part of what is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN human rights system, is the general name of the Council’s independent investigative and monitoring mechanisms that address specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. Special Procedures experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent of any government or organization and serve in their personal capacity.
