Zelenskyy on surveillance of journalists: Ukraine’s Security Service will investigate and solve it
Pravda Ukraine
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine, has stated that the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) will find those guilty of illegal surveillance of Ukrainian journalists.
Source: Zelenskyy in an interview for British TV channel Channel 4 News, full version of which was published by the Office of the President of Ukraine
Details: The host asked Zelenskyy about the situation with independent journalists in Ukraine who were “intimidated, some of them physically”.
Quote: “A criminal case was opened right away, this is very important. I invited the head of the Security Service of Ukraine and received details from the Prosecutor General. Maybe, some would say: “Well, there was some video footage of journalists but nothing happened”. I think something did happen. And we must find all the answers. So the Security Service will investigate this and solve the case.”
More details: Judging from the question about intimidation, it could concern the situation with a journalist Yurii Nikolov. Yet the President’s reply about the “video with the journalists” shows that he was talking about illegal surveillance conducted against the team of the Bihus.Info project.
Background:
- On 16 January, a video was leaked online showing employees of the Bihus.Info investigative project apparently using drugs. The project’s head, Denys Bihus, recorded a video message giving explanations and stated that everyone who works with Bihus.Info would take drug tests.
- Later, Bihus said that after talking to the people involved in the video, it transpired that members of the Bihus.Info editorial team had been under surveillance for about a year, and that fragments of intercepted conversations had been edited together from several episodes that took place months apart.
- The Security Service of Ukraine has reported that it was investigating the circumstances of illegal bugging and filming of the representatives of the Bihus.Info project. On this fact, a criminal investigation has been opened under Article 359 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (illegal acquisition, sale or use of special technical devices for obtaining information).
- On 17 January, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a meeting with law enforcement officials, including Vasyl Maliuk, the head of the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU), to discuss the surveillance of investigative journalists working for the Bihus.Info project.
- Yurii Nikolov, an investigative journalist, claimed that on 14 January, unknown people broke into his house in an attempt to intimidate him. Anonymous Telegram channels posted a video of men knocking on his apartment door and threatening him.
- On 21 January, the Prosecutor’s Office stated that Kyiv’s law enforcement agencies had identified the individuals who broke into the residence of investigative journalist Yurii Nikolov in order to impede his professional duties.
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