WASHINGTON – The United States Attorney General, Merrick Garland, made a surprise trip to Ukraine on Tuesday and announced the appointment of a veteran prosecutor known for his former Nazi investigations to lead the country’s criminal justice system. US efforts to track down Russian war criminals.
Mr. Garland’s visit to Ukraine, an unannounced side trip from his scheduled visits to Poland and Paris this week, is intended to support US and international efforts to help Ukraine identify identify, arrest and prosecute Russians in connection with war crimes and other atrocities.
He met Ukraine’s prosecutor general Iryna Venediktova for an hour near the border with Poland to discuss technical, forensic and legal assistance the United States could provide prosecutors in Ukraine, officials said. ministry said.
“The United States is sending an unmistakable message – there is nowhere to hide,” Mr. Garland said after the meeting. He added, “We will pursue every avenue available to ensure that those responsible for these atrocities are held accountable.”
Mr. Garland said he was tapping Eli Rosenbaum, the former Director of the Justice Department’s Office of Special Investigations, to form a new “War Crimes Accountability Team,” tasked with coordinating efforts with Ukraine. and international law enforcement groups in the pursuit of Russian atrocities. for justice.
Mr. Rosenbaum, 67 years old, best known for his work for the World Jewish Congress investigating the concealed World War II history of former United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim, the military unit implicated in war crimes against the Jews and Yugoslav parties. He also played an important role in the prosecution and deportation of Nazis living in the United States and Jews who committed atrocities against their own people in concentration camps.
Mr. Rosenbaum’s team will include Justice Department staff and outside experts; In addition to providing assistance to Ukrainian officials, they will investigate “potential war crimes over which the United States has jurisdiction, such as the killing and wounding of American journalists who reported on acts of terrorism.” Russia’s unprovoked aggression in Ukraine,” according to the ministry’s announcement of his recruitment.
The department is also sending additional personnel to expand cooperation with Ukraine and other partners to combat illegal financial evasion and Russian sanctions – detailing a Justice Department prosecutor specializing in Russia’s sanctions. consulting industry on combating fraud, corruption and money laundering, officials said.
Earlier this year, Mr. Garland and FBI director, Christopher A. Wray, said they were working with investigators and prosecutors in Ukraine, a signal that the Biden administration intends to follow through with the condemnation. publicize the atrocities committed by Russian forces. recorded during the war.
“The world sees what’s happening in Ukraine – the Justice Department sees what’s happening in Ukraine,” said Garland, who helped prosecute the mastermind behind the 1995 Oklahoma City bombings. in April.
