Surveillance Detection Unit

Under Surveillance Detection Unit refers to an organization of the United States, Norway and other European countries investigates alleged illegal intelligence activities. The television station TV2 reported on 4 November 2010 for the first time of the existence of the network, which is said to have started work in 2000.

Norway

Members

Members of the organization are to be several leading Norwegian ex- police officers and military personnel. It will consist of 15 to 20 people and have conducted surveillance operations. Been routed to the service of the 71- year-old ex - counterterrorism chief of police, Johan Olaf Johansen, be. In addition, to have been members of a 63 -year-old former head of the Oslo police, as well as several high-ranking ex- officials of the Criminal Investigation Department, the military and civil preparedness.

Activity

The goal is to prevent terrorist attacks on U.S. facilities in Norway. So were a few hundred people who had been in the vicinity of U.S. installations, detailed recorded, photographed and filmed. The data were then transferred to a database ( Security Incident Management Analysis System, SIMAS ) asked the U.S. Embassy available.

Germany

Beginning of November 2010 stated the federal government to have no knowledge of the organization's activities. But the end of November, they then confirmed the presence of a unit which is responsible for the physical protection of the U.S. embassies. Ole Schröder, State Secretary of the Interior shows, because of the threat situation understanding.

Switzerland

Mid-January 2011, the Swiss authorities declared that they tested whether the U.S. operated in Geneva an illegal program to detect observations. The Federal Council had to explicitly prohibited the Americans in 2007 after the U.S. Embassy in Bern and the U.S. Mission in Geneva, Switzerland had officially requested in the years 2006 and 2007 to obtain a permit for Observations recognition programs.

Reactions

Justice Minister Knut Storberget announced an investigation into the events and stated that the Norwegian government has no knowledge of the existence or the activity of the organization.

Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Store demanded by the U.S. comprehensive information to monitoring activities and stressed not to have been sufficiently informed of the U.S. Embassy. It would involve a serious matter.

The State Department stated that the use with the Norwegian authorities was denied. The U.S. embassy spokesman confirmed the existence of similar services in several states for a long time and justified it with attacks on U.S. embassies.