Spain's top criminal magistrate, Jose Luis Calama, has provisionally shelved a probe into Pegasus spyware intrusions after saying Israeli authorities ignored five formal requests for cooperation. The investigation found Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez's phone infected five times between 2020 and 2021 with more than 2.5 GB of data stolen; Defense Minister Margarita Robles' device was accessed multiple times in 2021. Calama said the lack of responses between May 2022 and February 2025 left investigators unable to proceed.
Spain Shelves Pegasus Probe After Israel Refuses To Cooperate Over Pedro Sánchez Hacking Allegations
A criminal investigation by Spain's High Court into the targeting of senior Spanish politicians with Pegasus spyware made by Israel software firm NSO was shelved Thursday due to Israeli authorities refusal to provide any cooperation. File photo by Atef Safadi/EPA-EFE
A magistrate in Spain's top criminal court has provisionally suspended a high-profile investigation into the use of the Pegasus spyware after saying Israeli authorities ignored multiple formal requests for cooperation. The probe implicated the phones of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and several senior ministers in targeted intrusions.
What the Judge Said
Jose Luis Calama, a magistrate in the criminal division of the National Criminal and Administrative Court, said Jerusalem failed to respond to five letters requesting assistance between May 2022 and February 2025. Calama wrote that the lack of cooperation "prevents us from advancing in the investigation of the facts" and amounts to a "manifest breach of its international obligations," leaving him no choice but to provisionally dismiss the case for a second time.
Investigation Findings
The inquiry, opened in 2022, concluded that Sánchez's phone was infected with Pegasus — software developed by Israel's NSO Group — on five occasions between 2020 and 2021, and that investigators recovered more than 2.5 gigabytes of exfiltrated files. Defense Minister Margarita Robles' device was reportedly accessed four times over a five-month period in 2021. The probe was later expanded to examine potential intrusions of Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska's and Agriculture Minister Luis Planas' phones.
Broader Context
Reporting by Spanish and British journalists, together with Canadian cybersecurity experts, found that Pegasus was used to target dozens of Catalan separatist politicians. Spanish intelligence authorized the use of the tool in approximately a quarter of the identified cases. The revelations, part of the wider "CatalanGate" controversy, contributed to the dismissal of Paz Esteban — Spain's first female spy chief.
Calama also said the court had sought to question then-NSO CEO Shalev Hulio as part of its requests for evidence and testimony, but received no cooperation from Israeli authorities.
NSO's Position
NSO Group maintains that Pegasus is sold only to governments and that the spyware can be "pushed" onto smartphones without any action by the device owner. The company has repeatedly argued that its technology is intended for lawful government use against crime and terrorism.
Case Status
Calama had temporarily shelved the probe in July 2023 because of investigative difficulties and lack of a clear suspect, but reopened it in April 2024 after related developments in France, where authorities pursued parallel investigations into Pegasus use against journalists, lawyers and politicians. With continued noncooperation from Israel, the Spanish court has again set the investigation aside pending further progress or international cooperation.
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