Spanish Prime Minister Proposes Reforming Intelligence Services Amid Spying Scandal

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Thursday proposed reforming the National Intelligence Center (CNI) amid brewing scandal over illegal wiretapping of Spanish politicians by secret services

MADRID/MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 26th May, 2022) Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Thursday proposed reforming the National Intelligence Center (CNI) amid brewing scandal over illegal wiretapping of Spanish politicians by secret services.

"The government will approve a new law on classified information that will replace the current one adopted during the dictatorship, and will reform the organic law regulating the CNI judiciary. We are modernizing the intelligence services to successfully address new challenges," the prime minister wrote on Twitter.

According to Spanish media, the reform will be aimed at strengthening control over the intelligence services by the judicial authorities to ensure the protection of personal and political freedoms of citizens.

The Spanish government also plans to update the National Security and Cybersecurity strategies, Sanchez said during his speech in the parliament.

The scandal around the espionage by CNI erupted in April, after a Toronto-based rights group, Citizen Lab, discovered that the Spanish intelligence services had used the Israeli-made Pegasus malware to wiretap phones of more than 60 current and former Catalan officials, including Sanchez.

CNI allegedly used the malware to hack phones of Spanish leaders, lawmakers and activists, steal data and gain access to their cameras and microphones following a failed independence vote in 2017. The Spanish government pledged to investigate the allegations.

On May 10, CNI Director Paz Esteban was dismissed due to the scandal.