Steven N.
Former secret agents now operating as private investigators have been commissioned by Fidesz-aligned groups to keep tabs on opposition politicians who won the primary elections and gather compromising information on them, writes HVG360.
In such cases, a so-called “operational environmental study” is carried out on the target person without their knowledge. Private investigators obtain information by employing various tricks in such a way that data providers have no idea who or what they are assisting.
Their work may reveal information not only about the person targeted, but also about their family members that could be used in a political campaign to smear them, writes HVG360. A thoroughly-conducted operational environment study can often provide better information about someone’s private life than just tapping their phone.
Surveillance of the target person is also legal if it is carried out in a public place, and the activity is documented there as well. Jobbik President Jakab Péter was recently attacked in the government media for meeting his chief of staff, Enikő Molnár, in an apartment in Buda. Jakab told HVG360 that he did not realize that he was being watched, nor did he detect any hidden cameras.
[Telex]
