Ex-president Ricardo Martinelli was acquitted in November of illegal  interception of communications,  but a former girlfriend told a Mallorca judge that he used the Pegasus computer espionage team after leaving office.

Indira Brunot told the judge about the monitoring and surveillance to which she was subjected, at least since 2016, when - she ended the affair with Martinelli -she noticed her communications being intercepted on a trip she took to Orlando.

Despite having ended the  relationship, she maintained contact with Martinelli since she acknowledged that he paid her 8,000 euros a month ($8,410) for "various consulting work."

"Martinelli, affirmed, he had bought the Pegasus computer program in Israel", cites a note from Diario de Mallorca , published on May 5.

According to the Mallorcan newspaper, the woman testified by videoconference from Miami (where she usually resides) two days ago, in a procedure conducted by the Investigating Court Number 2 of Palma. She said she was willing to provide all the WhatsApp messages related to the investigation, including her communications with Martinelli. The former president -according to the note in Diario - "has not been officially located and, therefore, has not been summoned to testify ."

Harassment probe
Martinelli is investigated in Mallorca for alleged espionage and harassment of Brunot, a case for which 11 people were arrested (including four Civil  Guard agents, and personnel from the Group Kougar agency ), last March.

According to the newspaper El País and AFP, Martinelli appears in another case for alleged corruption in the contracts awarded to the FCC construction company

Martinelli appeared by videoconference, although he refused to answer the investigators' questions.

In the investigation carried out in Palma, the detainees confessed that they watched and followed the woman on the beach and in a boat, at the instruction of Martinelli, to find out if she had a relationship with another man while vacationing on the island, in the summer of 2020. She reported the events up to three times. The detainees tried to explain that they were providing an escort and security service; she replied that she never consented to such attentions.

Little by little, the judge has released most of the detainees on bail, although the founder of Grupo Kougar remains under arrest.

The newspaper Última Hora reported that the judge indicated that "there are indications of the commission of a plurality of crimes by the person under investigation

The Martinelli government acquired the Pegasus spyware from the Israeli company NSO Group in 2010. The team worked until May 2014.

Martinelli was arrested in Miami and extradited to Panama, but in November 2021 he was acquitted by a court of three judges. While he was detained in El Renacer, in preventive arrest, he received a visit from Brunot.