PEGASUS Espionage Committee: Federal representative does not show up for hearing

The spy software "Pegasus" can tap all cell phone data unnoticed, read messages, and activate the microphone or camera remotely without the person affected noticing. It is considered one of the most powerful cyber weapons ever developed. Among the worldwide victims are several members of the EU Parliament, employees of the EU Commission as well as numerous oppositionists and lawyers from the EU member states.

According to its own information, the Israeli manufacturer NSO sells the product only to state authorities such as police forces, secret services or the military.

In order to clarify how it could happen that this software was also used against members of the EU Parliament and the EU Commission and who is responsible for that, the special committee PEGA was founded in the EU Parliament already in April 2022, of which I am a full member.

From the very beginning, this committee was ill-fated. Sometimes the Internet suddenly went down, speakers unexpectedly dropped out of the live video feed, government agencies stonewalled when passing on information or simply acted the fool.

Earlier this week, the Vice President of the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA), Martina Link, had been invited to a hearing before the committee. But Ms. Link did not show up for the appointment. The reason for her absence is still unknown. Even the committee chairman was surprised about this audacity and remarked that even he did not know whether the vice-president of the BKA - who was invited a total of 3 times - was only prevented by scheduling or if the Federal Ministry of the Interior had forbidden her to attend.

So let's hold on to this:

• ➡️ Powerful spy software, which according to the manufacturer is only sold to government agencies to help fight terrorism and organized crime, is suddenly also being used within the EU against politicians and oppositionists, among others.
• ➡️ According to the manufacturer, Germany is one of a group of 60 customers from 45 countries (including 14 EU countries).
• ➡️ In 2021, it became known that both the Federal Criminal Police Office and Germany's foreign intelligence service, the BND, are using a variant of the Pegasus software.
• ➡️ On November 14th, 2022, a hearing of the EU Special Committee PEGA was held with a focus on Germany. Despite being invited three times, the Vice President of the Federal Criminal Police Office does not appear in front of the committee. In the official documentation of the EU Parliament this incident is kept quiet. Only in a video recording of the session a hint is made at the very end.

My question:
What should an averagely gifted person make of this? What conclusion could one come to if the already known facts are put in connection with the corresponding conjectures? Could we then be in danger of being once again branded as alleged conspiracy theorists by “opinion controllers” and so-called "fact checkers"?

Kind regards,

Yours, Christine Anderson, MEP (AfD)