A high-profile investigation into the alleged use of Pegasus spyware to target the mobile phones of Spain’s top officials has been shelved for a second time. The Audiencia Nacional court in Madrid cited a persistent and obstructive lack of cooperation from Israeli authorities as the reason for halting the inquiry.
The case centers on the 2021 infiltration of devices belonging to Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and Defense Minister Margarita Robles, with subsequent revelations indicating the interior and agriculture ministers were also targeted. The spyware, developed by Israel’s NSO Group, is marketed exclusively to government agencies.
In his ruling, Judge José Luis Calama stated that Israel’s repeated failure to respond to international legal requests for information has “violated the principle of good faith” that should govern state relations. This lack of cooperation, he concluded, has made it impossible to identify who was behind the surveillance operations, effectively paralyzing the judicial process.
The scandal previously led to the dismissal of Spain’s intelligence chief and admissions of institutional failings within the country’s National Intelligence Centre (CNI).
Judge Calama had initially closed the investigation in mid-2023 but reopened it months later after French authorities provided related information on Pegasus use. However, this new material did not contain evidence that could advance the Spanish case.
NSO Group, when previously questioned about such incidents, has stated it does not operate its technology or access collected data, and that it investigates any allegations of misuse. The company and the Israeli government have not issued immediate comments on the latest court decision.
This case is separate from earlier revelations that dozens of individuals linked to the Catalan independence movement had their devices targeted by Pegasus between 2017 and 2020, some through legally authorized surveillance.