EUAM helps organise war crimes study tour to Germany for Ukrainian investigators

The EU Advisory Mission (EUAM) to Ukraine has supported a study visit to Cologne, Germany, for representatives of the National Police Unit, the Office of the Prosecutor General (OPG), and the Pathology Institute of Ukraine. The one-week study visit was financed by the German Foreign Office and took place in November.

The visit was organised to enhance skills and knowledge on large-scale crime scenes and mass graves.

The participants were trained with German specialists such as police superintendents, prosecutors, and forensic pathologists from the Cologne University Hospital on Criminalistics and Pathologic Aspects of large-scale (major) crime scenes.

Topics included mass fatalities management and disaster victim identification, Interpol procedures, photography of bodies, body parts and handling of effects/properties, and crime scene reconstruction, autopsies, signs of torture and mental stress.

One of the participants, Ukrainian Prosecutor Oleksandr Dakhno, a member of the department in charge of investigating crimes committed during armed conflicts, explained there was currently a need to deal with the “huge number of war crimes” committed by the Russian armed forces.

“The knowledge and practical experience gained will be useful to our law enforcement agencies in fairly punishing criminals, whoever they may be,” Alexander Dakhno said.

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Press release