More than 300 witnesses have been interviewed, and more than 90 people have been recognised as victims as part of Lithuania’s investigation into Russian war crimes, Prosecutor General Nida Grunskienė has said.
“Over 300 witnesses have been interviewed in this case, and over 90 people have been recognised as victims. We are sharing this information with Ukraine,” Grunskienė told LRT RADIO on Thursday.
“Certainly, a lot of work is being done in Ukraine, where over 73,000 pre-trial investigations have been opened, over 400 cases have already been handed over to court, and, as far as I know, some 30 people have been sentenced to prison,” she added.
According to the top prosecutor, one of the biggest challenges is to convince victims to testify.
The Lithuanian Prosecutor General’s Office opened its pre-trial investigation into the aggression, war crimes, and crimes against humanity in Ukraine on March 1, 2022.
Meanwhile, a special joint investigation team, which initially included the prosecution services of Ukraine, Lithuania, and Poland, launched its activities on March 25, 2022. It was reported in January that the joint investigation team includes representatives of seven countries and the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court.
Lithuanian prosecutors, together with other officials and experts, went to Ukraine, where they took part in the proceedings with Ukrainian prosecutors and investigators, recorded statements of victims and witnesses, and inspected the crime scenes.
Newsletter
Every Friday morning.
