Barcelona Court Reopens Pegasus Spy Case Involving ERC Deputies

The Audiencia of Barcelona has ordered the reopening of the Pegasus espionage case concerning former ERC deputies Ernest Maragall and Roger Torrent. After a two‑year‑and‑half delay by the lower court, the higher court instructed the judge to request information from the Spanish intelligence agency CNI and from the Luxembourg subsidiary of Israel’s NSO Group, the maker of the Pegasus software.

The new ruling highlights procedural shortcomings: the original inquiry was filed in November 2023, the first appeal was dismissed, and the case remained stalled for over two years. The court now seeks technical evidence from the infected phones and documentation from both the CNI and NSO Group, despite previous lack of cooperation from the Israeli firm. The investigation focuses on the alleged use of Pegasus against the two Catalan politicians, who were among the first independentist figures to confirm they had been spied on.

The development underscores ongoing tensions between the Spanish government, its intelligence services, and pro‑independence politicians, and may prompt further judicial scrutiny of state surveillance practices.