The five member states of the European Union (EU) participating in the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) on alleged war crimes in Ukraine already have “large amounts of evidence” from the testimonies of refugees, Eurojust told the Portuguese agency.
“EU Member States currently participating in the EIC [Lituânia, Polónia, Estónia, Letónia e Eslováquia] all are in possession of large amounts of evidence in the form of testimonies and testimonies of victims, coming from Ukrainian refugees”, advances the European Union Agency for Criminal Judicial Cooperation (Eurojust) in a written response sent to Lusa.
Eurojust’s position sent to Lusa comes after, at the end of March, the EU advanced with a joint investigation into alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Ukraine by Russian troops, following the invasion of the country at the end of last february.
Coordinated by Eurojust and initially made up of the judicial authorities of Lithuania, Poland and Ukraine, this JIT has since been expanded with the participation of Estonia, Latvia and Slovakia and the International Criminal Court Prosecutor’s Office.
The aim of the investigation is then to advance legal proceedings that could be initiated later, in cases that could be tried in Ukraine, EU member states or before the International Criminal Court.
“The actions of the EIC are focused on the investigation of war crimes and crimes against humanity. The main actions undertaken by the parties are the collection, recording and analysis of evidence of these crimes”, Eurojust specifies to Lusa.
According to the European agency, “while it certainly cannot be excluded that other EU Member States join the EIC at a later stage, it is also important to ensure that the size of the team does not hinder the decision-making process” by part Of the members. . .
With 20 years of experience in coordinating cross-border investigations, Eurojust also plays this role in these ongoing investigations in Ukraine and in EU Member States.
Therefore, Eurojust is supporting the JIT with prosecutors and investigators for the exchange of evidence, as well as providing legal and operational assistance.
In addition, it provides financial and logistical support to the EIC, providing meeting places, translation, technical equipment (phones, laptops, scanners, printers, and others), and coverage of travel costs.
This JIT for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Ukraine is made up of judicial and police officials working together on a transnational criminal investigation, based on a legal agreement between the countries involved.
In the early hours of February 24, Russia launched a military offensive in Ukraine that has already caused more than 15 million people to flee their homes – more than eight million internally displaced persons and more than 7.2 million to neighboring countries -, according to the latest UN data, which places this refugee crisis as the worst in Europe since the Second World War (1939-1945).
Also according to the United Nations, about 15 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance in Ukraine.
The Russian invasion—justified by Russian President Vladimir Putin with the need to “denazify” and demilitarize Ukraine for Russia’s security—was condemned by the international community at large, which responded by sending weapons to Ukraine and imposing sanctions on Russia that They affect practically everyone. sectors, from banking to sports.
The UN confirmed that 4,302 civilians died and 5,217 were injured in the war, which this Friday entered its 106th day, stressing that the real figures could be much higher and will only be known when there is access to fenced-off areas or under intense fighting.
Source: Observadora
