The joint submission demonstrates that Spain has failed to provide an adequate response to the concerns raised by the UN Special Rapporteurs and has not implemented the recommendations of the European Parliament’s PEGA Committee regarding the espionage scandal.
Assemblea and the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO) have submitted a letter to the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, the Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, and the Special Rapporteur on minority issues, arguing that Spain has failed to properly address the Catalangate espionage scandal. In 2022, following a complaint submitted by Assemblea and UNPO, the three Special Rapporteurs expressed their concerns in Communication AL ESP 8/2022.
Although Spain replied to the communication by claiming that the surveillance had been carried out in accordance with domestic law and that its constitutional framework provided adequate safeguards, victims have received no effective remedy, there has been no accountability, and serious allegations of unlawful surveillance remain unresolved. This raises concerns regarding the rights protected under Articles 17, 19, 22 and 27 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and Articles 8, 10 and 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights, as well as Spanish Law (Art. 588 Law 13/2025).
Spain has also failed to implement the recommendations issued by the European Parliament’s Pegasus Inquiry Committee (PEGA Committee) and did not meaningfully address the espionage scandal during its 2025 Universal Periodic Review.
Assemblea and UNPO further argue that the Spanish judiciary’s decision to sever the proceedings, rather than consolidate them into a coherent investigation, has undermined victims’ right to an effective remedy, as did the systematic failure to process European Investigation Orders.
The new submission also highlights developments that have emerged since the original communication to the Special Rapporteurs, providing further evidence in support of the concerns they raised in 2022. For example, the Spanish authorities justified the surveillance of former Assemblea presidents Elisenda Paluzie and Jordi Sànchez solely on the basis of their legitimate and peaceful political and civil society activities. Furthermore, in Sànchez’s case, the documented infections precede the known judicial authorisation. In the case of former Assemblea board member Sònia Urpí, the Spanish National Intelligence Centre (CNI) denied carrying out any surveillance despite the infection of her phone having been confirmed by four different sources: the Catalan Police, Amnesty International, Citizens Lab and Eventia.
In light of these developments, Assemblea and the UNPO call on the UN Special Rapporteurs to issue a joint public statement and a follow-up allegation letter to Spain requesting further information, and undertake an official visit to Spain. They also urge Spain to disclose the CNI’s judicial authorisations in unredacted form, reform the legal framework governing the CNI, and provide victims with access to information, acknowledgement of violations, and guarantees of non-repetition.
The Catalangate espionage scandal
An investigation conducted by the Citizen Lab uncovered in April 2022 the large-scale use of spyware against the Catalan pro-independence movement. The investigation revealed that at least 65 individuals –elected officials, lawyers, Members of the European Parliament, journalists, academics, and leaders of Catalan civil society organisations– had been targeted with the highly intrusive Pegasus and Candiru spyware.
The scope and composition of the targets strongly indicated that the surveillance operation was neither random nor linked to ordinary criminal investigations. Rather, the victims were connected through their involvement in the Catalan independence movement and associated political or cultural advocacy.
