The judge of Instruction Court 2 in Barcelona has formally summoned the former directors of the Civil Guard, Félix Vicente Azón and María Gámez, for investigation in relation to the massive espionage carried out using the Pegasus software. The order, dated 09.02.2026, also includes the former director of the CNI, Paz Esteban López, and the founders and executives of the Pegasus and Candiru companies.
The five plaintiffs —the entrepreneurs and open-source protocol developers Joan Arús, Joan Matamala, Jordi Baylina, Pau Escrich, and Xavier Vives— were focused on decentralized governance and sovereign digital identity. The lawsuit documents that Spanish authorities justified the espionage by alleging that the potential future use of these digital voting tools by third parties constituted a threat to “national security.”
The identities and confidential information of the business projects, extracted with spyware, were illegally leaked to the media.
This leak, according to Sentinel Alliance, was a deliberate attempt to commercially harm the technological companies and the reputation of those affected. For two years, starting in 2019, their devices were attacked with Pegasus and Candiru, military-grade spyware capable of extracting sensitive data and remotely activating microphones and cameras.
Citizen Lab documented at least 78 attacks against the plaintiffs and their associates, including family members and the advisor Elies Campo. None of the plaintiffs were ever charged in any criminal proceeding, and the investigations affecting them were shelved without charges, preventing them from having the opportunity to legally defend themselves.
