Bihus.info journalists were followed by at least 30 SBU officers
6 February 2024 09:11
The surveillance operation that resulted in a video of journalists using illegal substances was carried out by at least 30 people from the SBU’s Department for the Protection of National Statehood. This is stated in an investigation by journalists of the Bihus.info publication, reports 
on 16 January this year, a number of media outlets published a video showing Bihus.info employees using illegal drugs in a country hotel complex. The head of the publication, Denis Bigus, said in a statement that phone records show that the team had been bugged for almost a year. And on the territory of the complex, unknown persons installed cameras in the rooms for surveillance purposes.
A journalistic investigation has now revealed that the “unknowns” were employees of the SBU’s Department for the Protection of National Statehood. At least 30 employees of the department were involved in the special operation to monitor journalists in the hotel complex.
The SBU opened a criminal investigation into the possible illegal use of special technical means the very next day after the drug video appeared. According to the journalist, this was done in order to remove the hotel’s CCTV footage of its own employees. However, the video has been preserved and all SBU officers are in the journalist’s video.
The Security Service issued a comment in which it first reminded that the employee of the publication “was involved in criminal proceedings regarding the illegal production, manufacture, purchase, storage, transportation, shipment or sale of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances or their analogues”. They also reminded about the open proceedings regarding the illegal acquisition, sale or use of special technical means of obtaining information. The SBU also announced personnel decisions.
“The SBU leadership also made appropriate personnel decisions regarding the Department for the Protection of National Statehood and optimised its work areas,”
– the SBU said in a statement.
At the same time, the service has neither confirmed nor denied the information from Bihus.info. They did not explain whether they consider surveillance of journalists to obtain drug-related dirt as a normal practice. The public was not informed whether these were authorised investigative actions or whether it was an act of arbitrariness by some employees. They also did not say what the “personnel decisions” were, nor did they specify whether the SBU had imposed any disciplinary sanctions on the said employees, opened an internal investigation, or suspended them from work. The Service also did not explain why the Department for the Protection of National Statehood is dealing with drug use by journalists.
