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This Wednesday, Público revealed that Spain's National Intelligence Centre (CNI) was listening to Rambla terrorists' calls 5 days before the attacks. This new revelation is creating mounting outrage among Catalan politicians and leaders.

The newspaper states that it had access to one of the reserved reports that the CNI itself provided to investigators of the Spanish National Police and Civil Guard, Catalan police -Mossos- and the Spanish Public Prosecutor's Office during the judicial investigation. The report relates the journey of Omar Hichamy and Younes Abouyaaqoub to Paris between 11th and 12th August, 2017 and, according to the newspaper, the reports not only monitored the two future members of the Ripoll's jihadist cell and of their phone calls and Internet searches, but also the content of the conversations between them.

The speaker of the Catalan Parliament, Roger Torrent, considers that the news about the link between the CNI and the brain of the 17th August terrorist attack is "increasingly troubling by the day". In the same way, he asks that it be investigated and that responsibilities be demanded.

Digital Policies and Public Administration minister,  Jordi Puigneró, described the news as "a capital scandal" and gave two options to acting PM Pedro Sánchez: either to shed some light on the the cespit or to remain in the absolute political frivolity in which he lives, being president of a State without a government, with political prisoners, exiles and the CNI case".

For his part, the spokesman of political party ERC in the Spanish Congress, Gabriel Rufián, showed his frustration with the Spanish press for not mentioning the news of the attacks, while he was showing the images of several Spanish newspaper covers.

President Puigdemont's Cabinet minister and Representative of the Government of Catalonia to the EU Meritxell Serret, also in exile, spoke in English: 

 

Ernest Maragall of ERC (most voted candidate for Mayor of Barcelona last 26th May, now in the opposition due to Ada Colau's coalition agreement) has been concise and conclusive: "The data is explicit and alarming. The PSOE must give explanations without delay". He also asserted that this scandal "cannot be kept as it is, outrage in Barcelona and silence in Madrid.".

Pablo Iglesias, Unidas Podemos' leader, adhered to Rufián's complaint and emphasised that "the silence of the major Spanish media companies over what the CNI knew of the terrorists reveals how the powers in Spain work".