Trainers of the Prosecutors Training Centre of Ukraine (PTCU), which included prosecutors, detectives of the Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine, police officers, and employees of the PTCU (12 trainers: 9 female and 3 male) increased their knowledge on Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT) tools by participating in a five-day online training of trainers (ToT) during 29 August – 2 September 2022. The ToT was co-organised by the PTCU and the Council of Europe in cooperation with European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Training (CEPOL) as part of the joint European Union and Council of Europe capacity building efforts to support the process of investigating gross human rights violations in the context of the full-scale military aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine.

The ToT aimed at improving the practical skills of the participants to use OSINT tools and understanding the methodological process behind any use of such tools. During the event participants learned how to conduct effective searches on social media platforms for users; acquire social media profile data including posts and connections; forensically secure image and video-based evidence as well as gain other practical knowledge and skills useful for their professional and training activities. The participants of the ToT are to deliver further training to the prosecutors and investigators working on the investigation of the gross human rights violations in the context of the ongoing war in Ukraine.

The ToT was conducted by European Union funded CoE Project CyberEast in cooperation with CEPOL and was facilitated by the CoE Project “Human Rights Compliant Criminal Justice System in Ukraine”, which is part of the CoE Action Plan for Ukraine 2018-2022.