A Barcelona provincial court has indicted three former senior executives of NSO Group for their alleged involvement in the surveillance of at least 63 Catalan civil society members using the company’s Pegasus spyware, reports The Record, a news site by cybersecurity firm Recorded Future.
The executives, identified as Shalev Hulio, Omri Lavie, and Yuval Somekh, will be investigated under Spain’s “discovery and disclosure of secrets” law.
The hacking incidents, which primarily occurred between 2017 and 2020, targeted individuals associated with Catalonia’s independence movement, including elected officials and members of the European Parliament.
A 2022 report by the research group Citizen Lab found “extensive circumstantial evidence” linking the surveillance to the Spanish government but could not confirm direct involvement.
Human rights organization Iridia described the court’s decision as a milestone in Europe’s efforts against spyware abuses, emphasizing that those responsible will now face judicial scrutiny.
Neither the executives nor NSO Group have responded to inquiries regarding the case. The indictment signals growing legal pressure on spyware firms amid rising concerns over government-backed digital surveillance.
