On June 15, the office of the prosecutor general of Ukraine announced the arrival of Karim Khan and the plans of the representatives of the courts for the time of his prosecutor of the International Court of Justice.
"Prosecutor Khan carefully examines all crime scenes, asks important professional questions to our prosecutors. On the front of justice, we are side by side with him: in an independent investigation of the office of the prosecutor of the ISS, the Ukrainian prosecutor's office actively assists the Hague. At the same time, we work together within the framework of the Joint Investigation group on the platform of Eurojust, which the office of the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court has joined for the first time in its history," Irina Venediktova.
This is the 3rd visit of Karim Khan to Ukraine. The prosecutors, accompanied by the mayor of the city Ihor Terekhov, visited the districts of Kharkiv that were most affected by Russian missiles and bombs — the Northern Saltovka and the Shevchenkovskyy district. These are uptown, but they were targeted and continuously fired on by self-propelled guns for 2 hours. During these 2 hours, 9 people were killed (including a 5-month-old baby) and 17 were injured.
"The places where the victims lay are still marked with yellow flags, and the paving slabs are knocked down by fragments. There are no military facilities in the uptown Northern Saltovka, and at the same time, almost every second house is evidence of a war crime. Historical buildings in the center are now a memory of the times of Russian barbarism in the 21st century," Irina Venediktova.
During the visit, evidence of Russian war crimes against Kharkiv was collected, as well as evidence for further investigation of the criminal activity of the Russian army. These testimonies, in particular, will be included in the file of those military men who were caught and convicted for shelling Kharkiv.
"Thanks to changes in legislation, the International Criminal Court has the necessary procedural tools to work "on the ground". Next in line is the opening of their representative office in Ukraine. The task of our law enforcement system is now to provide all the opportunities for our colleagues to work objectively, independently, and quickly. The synergy of national and international justice is our key to justice," Irina Venediktova.
