In a move toward greater transparency, the Spanish ombudsman Saturday announced it will probe the possible inappropriate use of Pegasus spyware by authorities to spy on Catalonian separatist figures. Additionally, a parliamentary commission and the Spanish Intelligence Agency CNI will conduct a separate probe.

This decision came in response to a report by the University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab, which found that at least 65 individuals related to Catalan’s regional independence movement were targeted or infected using Pegasus. The cyber-espionage took place between 2017 and 2020, at the height of the Catalan independence movement.

According to the report, the targets of hacking include advocates, politicians, non-profit leaders, lawyers, journalists, open-source software developers working on democratic participation and even their relatives. The list also includes Catalan presidents, legislators, and members of the European Parliament. Every member of the European Parliament who advocated for Catalonia’s independence was targeted either directly or through relations. Civil society organizations like the Omnium Cultural and Assemblea Nacional Catalana were infected with Pegasus or Candiru, a self-destructing spyware.

In an interview, Citizen Lab founder Ronald Deibert said this case, which is being called “CatalanGate,” warrants an independent commission inquiry into “who ordered the espionage, who paid for Pegasus, how much was paid and what kind of authorization was granted.”

The Catalan government remains dissatisfied with these measures. Minister of the Presidency of Catalonia Laura Vilagrà, after a meeting with the Spanish government in Barcelona, called for the resignation of those related to the espionage case.

Spain’s relationship with Catalonia has been strained for a long time. The conflict reached a boiling point in 2017 when the Constitutional Court of Spain found Catalonia’s independence referendum unconstitutional. What followed was the dissolution of Catalonia’s parliament, the ouster of its politicians, and the conviction and subsequent pardon of nine Catalan leaders.