The joint investigation team (JIT)—supported by the EU Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation (Eurojust)—decided in Kyiv (Ukraine) on Tuesday, 10 September, to amend its agreement in order to deepen its investigations into crimes of torture, ill treatment, and ‘filtration’ procedures in Ukraine.
Established by Lithuania, Poland, and Ukraine on 25 March 2022, the JIT has since expanded to include another four EU Member States as well as the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court and Europol (the European agency for law enforcement [cooperation]). This team has strengthened Member States’ capacity to investigate Russian war crimes.
The JIT meeting preceded the ‘United for Justice’ Conference on 11 September—which was opened by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukrainian Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin, and Eurojust President Ladislav Hamran, who invited various stakeholders involved in the efforts to ensure accountability for alleged international crimes committed in Ukraine.
It was a matter of addressing the issue of Russian attacks on Ukrainian civilian infrastructure. (Original version in French by Nithya Paquiry)