At its meeting held in Paris on September 8, the Legal Affairs and Human Rights Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) issued a call to five countries, including Azerbaijan, regarding the abuse of Pegasus and other spy programs.

The Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights adopted a draft resolution entitled "Pegasus and similar spy programs and covert state surveillance." In the report prepared by Pieter Omtzigt, a member of the parliament of the Netherlands, it was noted that there is increasing evidence of the abuse of spy programs in the member countries of the Council of Europe.

The committee unequivocally condemned the use of spyware by state authorities for political purposes and called on the governments of Azerbaijan, Poland, Hungary, Greece, and Spain to promptly and fully investigate the abuse of spyware, take action on the violations found, and pay compensation to the victims. The mentioned countries were also invited to inform PACE and the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe about the issue within the next three months.

Speaking during the meeting, PACE members noted that secret surveillance of political opponents, public officials, journalists, human rights defenders, and civil society for other purposes, except for cases such as crime prevention or protection of national security, is a clear violation of the European Convention on Human Rights.