Support Our Work Mailing list About / Contact

Spain: Basque country/Spain: CESID in political surveillance

01 September 1998

Support our work: become a Friend of Statewatch from as little as £1/€1 per month.

The Spanish secret service, CESID, has again been embroiled in scandal when it was found to have been spying on the headquarters of a Basque political party, Herri Batasuna (HB), without judicial authorisation. The floor above the HB offices in Vitoria had been rented out by a secret agent of CESID who then installed surveillance devices throughout the building, monitoring all the telephones and computer systems. The spying dated back to 1992 and had never been legally authorised. The discovery of the operation has brought to light part of the structure and personnel of CESID in the Basque Country.

The scandal arising from the implication of the government in illegal activity has been mitigated by the existence of a tacit understanding with the official opposition that anything goes in the struggle to contain radical nationalism. Defence Minister Eduardo Serra, responsible for the secret service, made a parliamentary statement on the affair that practically amounted to supporting the activity, even though a colonel and a navy captain had been suspended over the affair and a judicial investigation is continuing.

Our work is only possible with your support.
Become a Friend of Statewatch from as little as £1/€1 per month.

 Previous article

Italy/France: Fugitive P2 "Venerable Master" rearrested

Next article 

Denmark: PET involved in "illegal" surveillance

 

Spotted an error? If you've spotted a problem with this page, just click once to let us know.

Report error

Statewatch does not have a corporate view, nor does it seek to create one, the views expressed are those of the author. Statewatch is not responsible for the content of external websites and inclusion of a link does not constitute an endorsement. Registered UK charity number: 1154784. Registered UK company number: 08480724. Registered company name: The Libertarian Research & Education Trust. Registered office: MayDay Rooms, 88 Fleet Street, London EC4Y 1DH. © Statewatch ISSN 1756-851X. Personal usage as private individuals "fair dealing" is allowed. We also welcome links to material on our site. Usage by those working for organisations is allowed only if the organisation holds an appropriate licence from the relevant reprographic rights organisation (eg: Copyright Licensing Agency in the UK) with such usage being subject to the terms and conditions of that licence and to local copyright law.

About | Contact | Privacy Policy