Spain: Sky ECC admitted, with limits on evidential use
On 23 July the National Court addressed interception, raw data and defence rights. The messages remained usable alongside other evidence.
In judgment 30/2026 defendants challenged the legality and verifiability of Sky ECC data in a cocaine case involving Bilbao and Algeciras. The court found no basis for wholesale exclusion and considered the French interception necessary and proportionate in this case.
It acknowledged that selecting messages and withholding the full original data can limit the defence. In these circumstances Sky ECC information could not alone be the sole incriminating basis for conviction. Here, the court said, it corroborated other evidence.
The defence appeals were dismissed. Following the prosecution appeal, four sentences were set at nine to thirteen years. The judgment allowed a cassation appeal.
