Thursday. 28.03.2024
WAR IN UKRAINE

Spain mobilizes 39 forensic experts for ICC probe on Ukraine war crimes

The country offers the resources of the National Institute of Toxicology and Forensic Sciences for the reception and analysis of samples and traces collected on the ground
11 April 2022, Ukraine, Butscha: An investigator wears a vest labeled "War Crimes Prosecutor" and begins collecting evidence of war crimes alongside bodies from a mass grave behind St. Andrew's Church. Photo: Carol Guzy/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa.
An investigator collecting evidence of war crimes alongside bodies from a mass grave behind St. Andrew's Church in Bucha. Photo: Carol Guzy/dpa.

The Spanish Ministry of Justice announced on Friday that it will make a group of Spanish experts in forensic and criminal investigation work available to the Prosecutor's Office of the International Criminal Court (ICC), the European Union (EU) and the Government of Ukraine.

The objective of this mobilization of officials is to assess the alleged international war crimes committed on Ukrainian territory.

The Ministry of Justice said in a statement that it will form a multidisciplinary team of forensic experts and other professionals to assist the ICC Prosecutor's Office in field work in Ukraine.

Likewise, Spain offers the resources of the National Institute of Toxicology and Forensic Sciences (INTCF) for the reception and analysis of samples and traces collected on the ground.

In its initial phase, 39 forensic experts will be available to the ICC to cooperate in the investigation. Of these, 29 will be forensic doctors, while the remaining 10 will be forensic officers (autopsies).

Confidence in Spanish professionals

In addition, there will be forensic and medical experts within the INTCF, who will be in charge of receiving and analyzing the samples and traces received.

Justice Minister Pilar Llop said she is "proud that the International Criminal Court and the Ukrainian Prosecutor's Office have placed their trust in these Spanish professionals to clarify these possible war crimes."

Spain mobilizes 39 forensic experts for ICC probe on Ukraine war crimes