Finland's National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has completed its preliminary investigation of suspected war crimes in Ukraine in 2014.
The NBI suspects Voislav Torden (also known as Yan Petrovsky), the ex-commander of the Russian far-right extremist Rusich paramilitary group, of an aggravated war crime and several other war crimes.
"The suspected crimes took place in Eastern Ukraine in autumn 2014," said Chief Inspector Olli Töyräs, who led the NBI investigation.
The investigation included interviews conducted in Ukraine and Finland, including several interrogations of Torden. Interviews in Ukraine were carried out by local authorities with NBI representatives present.
Online videos as evidence
In addition to hearing witnesses, investigators gathered material online, including videos posted on open sources.
According to Töyräs, the police have been able to verify that the person appearing in the videos is Torden. That may have been easier since photos of him from the time show him with extensive, distinctive tattoos.
A previous foreign war crimes trial held in Finland collapsed partly because the identity of the suspects – who were identical twin brothers – could not be definitively confirmed from wartime videos filmed in Iraq in 2014.
Töyräs declined to specify what kind of events are documented in the videos. Authorities have collected hundreds of pages of preliminary investigation material.
The NBI partnered in the investigation with the Finnish Security and Intelligence Service (Supo), the Finnish Border Guard, the Finnish Defence Forces and various international agencies.
The NBI is handing over the preliminary investigation material to prosecutors, who will consider charges. The deadline for bringing charges is 31 October.
Prosecutor: Clear dates and times of offences
Deputy Prosecutor General Jukka Rappe told Yle that he expects that his office will file an indictment by then.
Rappe noted that even though a decade has passed since the events, officials were able to find a large number of people in Ukraine and Finland who could testify about them.
"The overall picture of the events has come out remarkably well during the investigation. We know about certain dates and even times. The accounts of the cases seem quite convincing," he said.
Torden was detained in Finland in August 2023.
The Finnish Supreme Court has ruled that he cannot be extradited to Ukraine. It cited poor conditions for prisoners there and concerns that Torden would not receive a fair trial.
Meanwhile, members of Torden’s neo-Nazi Rusich militia claimed last week to be patrolling areas along the southeastern Finnish border.