Between 2017 and 2022, at least 67 politicians, lawyers, journalists and others associated with processes Liberty in catalonia spied on PegasusA powerful computer program was developed in israelNational Intelligence Center (cni), depend on spanish governmentAdmitted to monitoring 18 with judicial authority before Supreme Courtincluding former President Pere Aragones, joaquim tora, carles puigdemont And artur monthHowever, the rest of those involved may have been victims of a method that was opaque as well as illegal. Now, and for the first time, a new investigation has revealed the names and surnames of those allegedly responsible for the known scam catalangate,
This report was presented this Wednesday IridiaA Catalan association in defense of civil and political rights identifies three senior managers of a European subsidiary NSO GroupAn Israeli business network famous for the creation of Pegasus, a malicious program capable of penetrating mobile operating systems Android And iOS and reach everyone personal data Which is transmitted through the device without users detecting it.
Various investigations have revealed that Pegasus has been used by at least 73 states around the world. Although NSO Group assures that it sells it only to combat crime terrorThere is a lot of evidence that Weapon Of cyber surveillance Has spied on and tortured political dissidents, critical journalists or activists human rightsthis is proof Saudi journalist murdered jamal khashoggi,
The people identified by Iridia’s complaint are:
Shalev Hulio He is the co-founder of NSO Group and was its CEO until 2022, when he resigned following several legal disputes. Before making the greatest weapon of Cyber espionage World, this Jewish soldier originally from Haifa studied law and was commander of the Israeli Army’s Civil Defense Command.
Omri Lavi He co-founded NSO Group with Hulio, whom he met during a trip to Europe in high school. He is currently a member of the board of directors of the manufacturer of Pegasus and between 2019 and 2023 he was a member of Ossi Technologies, another company that is part of the NSO Group network. He is the sole administrator of Dufresne Holding, the investment firm that owns the Israeli company.
Yuval Sokh According to Iridia, he is the only executive who appears to have been a member of the board of directors of Ossi Technologies and Q Cyber Technologies between 2019 and 2020, the period in which most of the attacks occurred. Catalan independence,
complaint before the courts
This Wednesday, Iridia presented a Complaint before the courts of barcelona In which he has accused him of being behind the manufacturing, marketing and contractual management of Pegasus. Europe and thus commit crimes Participation or cooperation in disclosure and use of secrets software illegal. That’s why you make your request Accusation penalty.
The lawsuit has managed to find links to NSO Group European UnionNSO Group is an umbrella brand that brings together a total of 19 commercial companies, including OSY Technologies and Q Cyber Technologies. This cyber surveillance network has been operating in Luxembourg since 2014 as a “gateway” to trade in the European region. And “probably” was created to create difficulties in assigning responsibilities.
Detailing its complaint, Iridia urged European states to sever all commercial ties with NSO Group and adopt restrictionsIn 2021, usa Added Pegasus to my blacklistThus marketing has been banned with its manufacturer. Apple And Targetowner of WhatsAppThousands of mobile devices have also been sued for violating their security.
Furthermore, Iridia also warned that any delay in the investigation and prosecution of Hulio, Lavi and Sokh “could trigger a statute of limitations in May 2025”, just under half a year.
Opacity of Spain and Israel
By targeting the headquarters of the NSO Group in Luxembourg, Iridia has found a way out, which they hope will allow a judicial investigation that has been blocked until now.ambiguity“Executive led pedro sanchezAnd Spanish rules introduce legal loopholes that “provide convenience.” Supervision “Without adequate supervision” and they classify all CNI information as official secrets. “A person under judicial investigation has more rights and guarantees than someone spied on by the CNI,” this Wednesday. Condemned by lawyer Anais Francesa, co-director of Iridia, who denies that amnesty law Affect the matter.
“A person under judicial investigation has more rights and guarantees than a person spied on by the CNI”
This situation has generated many critical reactions. Former Director of CNI, Paz EstebanHas been charged by a Barcelona court for his role in espionage against independence leaders. commission of inquiry European Parliament pointed out that madrid Was “probably” the first Pegasus customer in the U.S. European UnionIn late 2023, the Legal Affairs Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly Council of Europe Asked spain Investigate cases of espionage against Catalan sovereignty, putting the country at the level of others that have resorted to surveillance Hungary, poland one of the two Azerbaijan,
This lack of transparency is compounded by the fact that Israel has not responded to any of the permits requested. Justice Spanish to access evidence regarding the case, leading to several cases being filed. He spyware It is not exported to other countries without prior permission from the Ministry of Defense of the Jewish State.
Espionage against Junqueras’ lawyer
Iridia has managed to identify three of the people “directly responsible” for the scam after investigating the matter espionage against the Catalan lawyer Andreu Van Den EyndeHe is also a member of its board. On May 14, 2020, amid the Covid pandemic, the criminal law expert continuously used his Mobile phone To communicate with your customers. were among them Oriole Junquerus And Raul RomevaBoth were imprisoned for being part of Government who organized consultations on Catalan independence, but also Ernest Maragall And roger torrent,
After one year, Citizen LabA laboratory at the University of Toronto, informed him That very day his device got infected with Pegasus. After the affair came to light in 2022, Van den Eynde filed a complaint for acts of espionage, interception of communications, illegal intrusion into computer equipment and acquisition of espionage precursors.
Iridia condemns this as an abusive, illegal and disproportionate approach. “He was spied on to learn about his clients’ legal defense strategy,” Françoisa lamented. “This amounts to breaking the rules of the game of a democratic state and violating essential rights,” said Brian Ventura, a lawyer on Iridia’s legal team. That is why the association has assumed legal representation of Van den Eynde’s case, which is being processed at Barcelona’s Judjet 24 d’Instruccio, and hopes that the complaint will lead to an arrest warrant at European level. They emphasize that the victims are still waiting for justice.
