Three SBU officers involved in illegal surveillance and wiretapping of Bihus.info sent to the front
Three employees “have been transferred to carry out operational and combat duties in the combat zone, in particular in Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts,” the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) said on Feb. 15 in response to the Bihus.Info inquiry into the illegal surveillance and wiretapping of its investigative team.
The three men are Ihor Kravchenko, Yevhen Konovalenko, and Taras Sadovnyk.
Read also: SBU chef to report on Bihus.Info surveillance case in Parliament in two weeks at the earliest
On Feb. 8, the investigative journalism outlet Bihus.Info submitted the following questions to the SBU:
Who exactly was mentioned in the SBU's commentary on personnel decisions in the National Statehood Protection’s Department (NSPD)?
Do the SBU’s NSPD employees mentioned in the Bihus.Info article, namely Ihor Kravchenko, Yevhen Konovalenko, and Taras Sadovnyk, continue to perform their official duties and will they be suspended?
Who is the current head of the NSPD?
The personnel decisions mentioned in the SBU's comment refer to the dismissal of Roman Semenchenko as the NSPD’s head, according to the official response. The SBU is currently reformatting the activities of one of the NSPD’s departments "in order to radically change approaches".
Andriy Ishchuk is temporarily acting as the NSPD’s head.
SBU surveillance of Bihus.Info - what is known
Roman Semenchenko, former NSPD’s head at Ukraine’s SBU, has been dismissed over his involvement in surveillance of the editorial team of investigative journalism outlet Bihus.Info, NV’s sources in the SBU said on Feb. 5.
Read also: National Police launch criminal probe into Bihus.Info surveillance
On the same day, the Bihus.Info project published a new investigation, according to which the SBU's NSPD was responsible for the surveillance operation. According to the journalists, under false pretenses, SBU officers illegally surveilled the investigative team during a New Year's corporate event. They installed hidden cameras in at least eight hotel rooms and in the sauna at the venue. The operation involved about 30 people and lasted six days.
The decision to fire Semenchenko was made by SBU head Vasyl Malyuk, who submitted a corresponding request to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The president sacked Semenchenko on Jan. 31.
Read also: Bihus.Info journalists uncover espionage during SBU investigation
Semenchenko did not deny SBU’s involvement in the surveillance in a conversation with Bihus.Info.
The SBU responded to the Bihus.Info investigation by accusing "certain staff members" of the editorial team of illegal drug use but did not deny conducting the surveillance operation.
Earlier, the President said that any form of pressure on journalists is unacceptable, reacting to news of the surveillance of journalists.
Bihus.Info journalists are known for their important investigations into the Ukrainian government and politicians.
A video surfaced online on Jan. 16 allegedly showing Bihus.Info staff using drugs. Bihus claimed that there had been illegal surveillance lasting about a year, with edited fragments from different times.
Project manager Denys Bihus stated that the surveillance and wiretapping were illegal. Deputy editor-in-chief Maksym Opanasenko claimed that the team had been bugged for several months.
The SBU initiated a criminal case on Jan. 17 for illegal eavesdropping and video recording by the outlet’s employees. Law enforcement does not rule out violations of drug-related laws in the published materials.
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