Last August, when Congress was formed, he PSOE sealed two agreements with CKD and Together to, among other measures, allow the use of co-official languages, provide deputies to be able to form a parliamentary group despite not achieving the requirements established in the Regulation, and create investigative commissions on the jihadist attacks in Barcelona and Cambrils in August 2017 and on espionage on Catalan politicians and the so-called ‘operation Catalonia’ to discredit the independence movement.

In exchange, these parties would vote for Francina Armengol as president and thus would give the PSOE and Sumar control of the Lower House Table.

Of these conditions, only the investigation commissions remained to be met and Junts went ahead last Friday by registering, together with the PNV, those related to the Islamist attacks and the ‘Operation Catalonia’ that is attributed to the Government of Mariano Rajoy.

And now ERC, in the company of Bildu and the BNG, presents its own to clarify responsibilities for “espionage and interference with privacy and intimacy, through the Pegasus and Candiru malware, to political leaders, activists, lawyers, journalists, institutions and their family and friends”.

The explanatory memorandum contains information indicating that in recent years, which also affects the governments of Pedro Sanchezthe president of the Generalitat has been spied on, Pere Aragonès, and his predecessors Quim Torra, Carles Puigdemont and Artur Mas; to the former presidents of the Parliament Roger Torrent and Laura Borràs; to leaders of political parties such as Arnaldo Otegi (Bildu), Marta Rovira (ERC), Jordi Sánchez (Junts) or Anna Gabriel (CUP); and lawyers like Andreu Van den Eynde or Gonzalo Boyeamong other independence activists.

According to the proposal, to which Europa Press has had access, within six months the commission must “know in detail theThe involvement of State institutions in the alleged illegal interferencesknow the alleged responsibility and misuse of the technical structures in all the ministerial departments and the link of said structures with espionage, and know in detail all the actions of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in relation to the investigations carried out “allegedly illegal manner, without being sub judice, of the Generalitat’s delegations abroad”.

It is also necessary to “know the contracts, costs and contracting processes for the alleged development and/or purchase of the Pegasus software or other tools used for espionage by official bodies, and investigate all those initiatives carried out by the institutions of the State, in order to persecute political dissidence.

Finally, they demand “compensation measures for all those affected for illegal investigations, as well as the assumption of responsibilities arising from the misuse of government structures”, as well as “proposing appropriate control, investigation and prevention measures to protect democracy from abuses of State force” .

Junts wants to demonstrate “lawfare”

The investigative commissions that Junts registered are now ready to be debated in the Plenary Session of Congress, since they have already been qualified by the Congress board, and the ERC will receive the approval next week. All that remains is to set a date to debate and vote on them in the Plenary Session of Congress.

In the agreement signed by PSOE and Junts for the investiture of Pedro Sánchez there is talk of take advantage of the promised new investigative commissions to delve deeper into the amnesty to the pro-independence activists prosecuted over the last ten years. Those of Carles Puigdemont want what Congress decides to serve to demonstrate the alleged ‘lawfare’ or ‘judicial war’ and thus review other causes that affect coreligionists.

PreciselyThat mention of ‘lawfare’ in the PSOE and Junts agreement stirred up the main judicial associations and the General Council of the Judiciarywho interpreted that Congress was going to supervise the actions of the courts.