Aamer Anwar claims Spanish government targeted him with Israeli spyware

Mr Anwar acted for Clara Ponsatí, who was was charged in Spain with sedition for her role in Catalonia’s independence referendum in 2017, in an extradition case that was later dropped.

Mr Anwar’s claim follows one made by the Citizen Lab, a group based at the University of Toronto that works on high-tech human rights abuses, that at least 65 individuals associated with Catalan independence had been infected with Israeli spyware known as Pegasus.

They said Ms Ponsatí was targeted in July 2020. Mr Anwar told The Herald that he and other members working on the case suspected at the time that they were being hacked.

“We were very aware of the fact that calls would die mid-sentence, email would go adrift, messages would arrive 24 hours later, rather than immediately,” he said.

“At the peak, it became so frustrating that you couldn’t actually have a conversation.”

Joanna Cherry QC MP, deputy chair of Westminster’s Joint Committee on Human Rights, said: “The allegations of spying on elected MEPs by EU member state Spain are shocking and the president of the European Parliament should conduct an urgent inquiry. If Aamer Anwar was spied upon while conducting the defence of Clara Ponsati that would be a disgraceful breach of the principle of legal privilege.”