The Spanish government has acknowledged that the Centro Nacional de Inteligencia (CNI) monitored the mobile phones of former CUP deputies David Fernández and Carles Riera with Supreme Court authorization after the Catalan independence trial. The admission went to the Barcelona court investigating the Pegasus spyware scandal, sharpening scrutiny of state surveillance targeting pro-independence figures.
Information from the declassified report submitted by the Council of Ministers, the CNI intercepted communications and examined Fernández and Riera’s devices after the Supreme Court sentenced Catalan leaders. The government said alleged threats to national security justified the operations, which the Supreme Court judge overseeing intelligence-service measures had authorized. Law 11/2002 sets out the CNI’s statutory structure, while Organic Law 2/2002 provides for prior judicial control of intelligence measures that may affect Fundamental Rights.
Fernández’s surveillance began in late 2019 and continued until June 2020, after the high-profile verdict that sent several independence leaders, including Oriol Junqueras, to prison. Though Fernández had stepped back from formal politics, he remained linked to independence activism and post-sentencing mobilizations. Riera was monitored from June 2020 to May 2022, while serving as a deputy in the Catalan Parliament.
Fernández was absent from the 2022 list of 18 people reportedly surveilled by the CNI, which former intelligence chief Paz Esteban presented to a closed-door parliamentary commission. Riera was on the list. Both politicians had previously filed legal complaints after Citizen Lab, a Canadian research group, reported finding traces of Pegasus spyware on their devices. The CNI surveillance acknowledged by the government and the Pegasus findings are related parts of the wider case, but the declassified account does not establish that Pegasus was used in the operations.
The government’s report also addresses former CUP deputy Albert Botran. Citizen Lab reported technical evidence of Pegasus activity on his phone, but officials deny that the CNI targeted him. The declassification allows CNI director Esperanza Casteleiro to brief the court on the activities that led to the surveillance. The government has ordered that Supreme Court documents revealing intelligence methods or sources remain partially redacted.
Spain’s Pegasus affair has prompted multiple judicial investigations, with at least ten separate cases open in Barcelona courts. The controversy has also drawn attention to other legal disputes involving Spanish security forces, including proceedings against former police officials, as described in a related report on legal challenges faced by ex-police leadership.
Pegasus, developed by Israel-based NSO Group, is commercial spyware designed to access information on targeted smartphones and allow surveillance. In Spain, debate centers on how authorities authorize and supervise intelligence operations, including the safeguards applied when courts handle classified material. The Barcelona proceedings bring those questions into focus as judges examine the surveillance allegations and the government’s declassified account.
