Recently, Ukraine has been marked by a series of scandals related to journalists. The day before, Yuriy Nikolov's apartment was broken into, and Bihus.Info released classified documents and monitored their journalists. The head of the National Police, Ivan Vyhivskyi, presented the stage of the investigation of these cases at a briefing on January 22. Noting that the investigation into Bihus.Info has been started and the persons involved in the Nikolov case have been identified.
"Four representatives of Bihus.Info approached us and we opened four investigations under article 182, which are related to violation of privacy. These cases were opened on the weekend, on Friday and Saturday (January 19-20)," said Vyhivskyi, adding about the planned investigative actions.
Noting the words of the founder of Bihus.Info, Denys Bigus, Vyhivskyi said that the SBU has already conducted some investigative actions, and the law enforcement officers themselves are also planning to coordinate their steps. Regarding "amateur" surveillance, he noted that time and investigation will determine its nature, refraining from making statements.
Regarding the attack on the apartment of journalist Yury Nikolov, Vyhivskyi explained that the police had identified four alleged perpetrators who were pasting leaflets with threats. The head of the National Police emphasized that law enforcement agencies react equally to any statements, in particular regarding pressure on journalists, and promised to objectively investigate every criminal proceeding.
Journalist Yuriy Nikolov is known for his investigations, in particular regarding corruption in procurement for the Armed Forces. The attack on his apartment caused the reaction of law enforcement officers who are investigating this case. As for the Bihus.Info case, the journalists received compromising material during a corporate event, which contained narcotic substances. The head of the project, Denys Bigus, confirmed the fact of the operators' use of prohibited substances and their release. Journalists also claim that there were at least 30 people watching, and the preparation of the surveillance and wiretapping was a large-scale special operation.
