"The humanitarian organization Cristosal called on the Court of Accounts of El Salvador on Feb. 8 to carry out 'a special examination of the use of public funds' by the Presidency of the Republic, the State Intelligence Agency (OIE, by its Spanish acronym ), as well as the Ministries of Security and Defense in response to reports of espionage—through the Pegasus program—on journalists and human rights defenders.
'We are filing a complaint against alleged irregularities in the management of public funds for activities of interference and illegal tapping of communications,' Cristosal stated. It added that 'the reported facts are related to the alleged use of public funds to contract services' of this program that 'allows remote surveillance of smartphones and access to citizens' personal data without their consent or authorization.'"
