Quim Torra

Citizen Lab analyses attributed several infections of Quim Torra's phone in 2020 to Pegasus spyware. After Spanish proceedings were closed, Torra and Josep Costa applied to the European Court of Human Rights. The Court ultimately declared their application inadmissible; the decision became public in late August–early September 2026.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Protagonist is the victim

Torra refused to remove pro-independence symbols from public buildings within the prescribed deadlines during an election period, despite repeated orders from the Central Electoral Board. In September 2020, the Supreme Court upheld his sentence of one and a half years' disqualification and a 30,000 euro fine, resulting in his removal as president of the Generalitat. His Strasbourg application concerning the case was subsequently communicated to the Spanish government.

State of the evidence

Established by a court

Attribution

Personally implicated

Role of the person profiled

Protagonist not prosecuted

In separate proceedings, Torra was convicted for refusing to comply with a September 2019 TSJC order requiring him to remove a banner supporting "political prisoners and exiles" from the Generalitat palace. In February 2024, the Supreme Court upheld fifteen months' disqualification and a fine of 24,000 euros.

State of the evidence

Established by a court

Attribution

Personally implicated

In a 2012 article entitled "La llengua i les bèsties", Quim Torra used extremely harsh rhetoric against certain Spaniards hostile to the Catalan language. In 2018, the TSJC considered that the text might contain the elements of a hate offence but that prosecution was time-barred. For other tweets and articles, it found that the statements fell within freedom of expression despite their offensive nature.

Attribution

Personally implicated

On 1 October 2018, Torra publicly encouraged the Committees for the Defence of the Republic with the phrase "apreteu, i feu bé d'apretar" ("push harder, and you are right to push harder"). Opposition parties interpreted the statement as encouraging greater pressure and confrontation in the streets.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Personally implicated

In December 2018, Torra cited Slovenia's path to independence as an example and said Catalans must be prepared to do "everything" to obtain their freedom. As Slovenian independence had involved a short war, his remarks triggered strong accusations of irresponsibility, and even some independence allies preferred to invoke the Scottish path.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Personally implicated