Spain: Three executives of the NSO Group charged for their responsibility in the Pegasus espionage case
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A Provincial Court in Spain has ruled in favour of Irídia and ordered the indictment of three NSO Group executives. They will be investigated for the alleged crime of discovery and disclosure of secrets. This follows the judge’s refusal to charge them, limiting the investigation to production and commercialisation companies.
This sets an important precedent in the fight against spyware espionage in Europe and represents a significant step forward in the investigation. Individuals involved will have to answer personally before the courts. This comes at a time when there is increasing evidence of the company’s responsibility in the infection process.
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The indicted individuals, Shalev Hulio, Omri Lavie, and Yuval Somekh, held positions of responsibility in NSO Group Technologies Limited, OSY Technologies, and Q Cyber Technologies (operating within the European Union in Luxembourg) during the period under investigation (2019 and 2020), when lawyer Andreu Van Den Eynde was allegedly spied on using Pegasus spyware.
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This is the first time that NSO Group executives have been formally notified that they are under criminal investigation. From this point on, [rights group] Irídia urges the authorities in Luxembourg to cooperate actively in the investigation and to issue a European Investigation Order (EIO) to clarify the reported facts.
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A Provincial Court in Spain has ruled in favour of Irídia and ordered the indictment of three NSO Group executives. They will be investigated for the alleged crime of discovery and disclosure of secrets. This follows the judge’s refusal to charge them, limiting the investigation to production and commercialisation companies.
This sets an important precedent in the fight against spyware espionage in Europe and represents a significant step forward in the investigation. Individuals involved will have to answer personally before the courts. This comes at a time when there is increasing evidence of the company’s responsibility in the infection process.
[...]
The indicted individuals, Shalev Hulio, Omri Lavie, and Yuval Somekh, held positions of responsibility in NSO Group Technologies Limited, OSY Technologies, and Q Cyber Technologies (operating within the European Union in Luxembourg) during the period under investigation (2019 and 2020), when lawyer Andreu Van Den Eynde was allegedly spied on using Pegasus spyware.
[...]
This is the first time that NSO Group executives have been formally notified that they are under criminal investigation. From this point on, [rights group] Irídia urges the authorities in Luxembourg to cooperate actively in the investigation and to issue a European Investigation Order (EIO) to clarify the reported facts.
[...]
The court ruling also highlights the role of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, which repeatedly tried to block the expansion of the complaint. The Cybercrime Prosecutor had opposed the extension of the complaint, despite the PEGA Committee and PACE (Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe) had emphasised the need for an in-depth investigation into these cases of espionage using Pegasus.
The court states that the attitude of both the investigating judge and the prosecutor in refusing to allow the extension of the complaint was “inconsistent with the current state of the proceedings” and that “it seems entirely logical to extend the indictment to the individuals who have been identified as being behind the decisions taken by these [companies].” This attitude on the part of the Public Prosecutor’s Office adds to the silence and lack of cooperation on the part of the Spanish state in this case.
Yeah, wtf?
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The court ruling also highlights the role of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, which repeatedly tried to block the expansion of the complaint. The Cybercrime Prosecutor had opposed the extension of the complaint, despite the PEGA Committee and PACE (Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe) had emphasised the need for an in-depth investigation into these cases of espionage using Pegasus.
The court states that the attitude of both the investigating judge and the prosecutor in refusing to allow the extension of the complaint was “inconsistent with the current state of the proceedings” and that “it seems entirely logical to extend the indictment to the individuals who have been identified as being behind the decisions taken by these [companies].” This attitude on the part of the Public Prosecutor’s Office adds to the silence and lack of cooperation on the part of the Spanish state in this case.
Yeah, wtf?
They totally benefitted from Pegasus spying on Catalan independentists, imo.
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