The Spanish authorities have detected Pegasus spyware on the mobile phones of Prime Minister, Pedro Sanchez, and Defence Minister, Margarita Robles, the Minister of the Presidency, Felix Bolanos, reported today.

Bolanos said in a press conference that the same spyware infected Sanchez’s phone back in May 2021 and at least one data leak incident was recorded at the time. The Spanish official did not say who could spy on the Prime Minister or whether any suspicious foreign or Spanish groups are behind this.

“The targeting was illicit and external. External means were used by unofficial bodies and without state permission,” he said, adding that these infections had been reported to the Ministry of Justice and that the Supreme Court would have jurisdiction over the case.

The announcement came amid mounting pressure on the coalition government to provide explanations after the Canadian Citizen Lab said more than 60 people linked to the Catalan separatist movement had been targeted by NSO’s Pegasus spyware.

Following allegations of espionage by members of the Catalan separatist movement, the main ally of the minority government in Parliament, the left-wing pro-Catalan Independence Party (ERC), said it would not support the government until Madrid took steps to restore confidence, according to APA MPA.

Gabriel Roufian, an MP and spokesman for the ERC, said on Twitter: “The state has been spying, is spying, and will continue to spy.”

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