The ISS Prosecutor's Office mission will work with the Ukrainian authorities and representatives of other countries.
The Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court Karim Khan sent to Ukraine, a group of 42 investigators, forensic experts and support staff to participate in the investigation of Russian war crimes under the jurisdiction of the ICC, as well as to support the Ukrainian authorities. This was reported by Interfax-Ukraine with reference to the statement of the ISS prosecutor.
According to Khan, this is the largest one-time deployment of his field office in the history of the institution.
The prosecutor clarified that during the mission the body will focus on several main tasks aimed at “accelerating our independent investigations and strengthening the synergy of investigative actions with the national authorities on the ground in Ukraine.”
“By sending a team of investigators, we will further expand the leading development and gather evidence of military attacks that may be crimes of the Rome Statute. Through close cooperation with the Ukrainian authorities, our forensic experts will map the actions of national investigators at the scene to track work processes and strengthen the chain of storage of irrefutable evidence, “the statement said.
According to Khan, it is very important that the work of all participants who seek to support accountability in Ukraine “benefits from effective coordination and communication.” “In this way, we will significantly increase the impact of our collective work to establish the truth,” the prosecutor added.
“The team sent to my Office today will also work with a group of French forensic experts on the ground in Ukraine to ensure the continuity and continuation of their work on the identification of remains, ballistic analysis, and the storage and preservation of forensic evidence. We will also work with teams from other countries in Ukraine to fully reflect on existing activities and strengthen coordination among all participants, ”said Khan. working together to investigate Russia's war crimes.
Karim Khan also thanked the Dutch government. As a result of the cooperation, a significant number of national experts from the Netherlands were sent to the prosecutor's office to support the mission.
“This cooperation will significantly enhance the impact of our forensic and field investigations. In real terms, it will allow us to gather more evidence, support the identification of relevant forensic and digital materials, and ensure that information and evidence are collected in this way. to increase their admissibility in future ISS hearings, “he said.
