Aonghus Kelly to lead international crimes unit in Ukraine

Aonghus Kelly to lead international crimes unit in Ukraine

Aonghus Kelly

Irish lawyer Aonghus Kelly has been appointed to lead an EU unit helping the Ukrainian authorities to investigate and prosecute international crimes committed during the ongoing war.

Mr Kelly has been working in Kyiv with the EU Advisory Mission Ukraine (EUAM) since September 2022, initially on sabbatical from Irish Rule of Law International (IRLI), which he led as executive director prior to his present work. He and other Irish criminal justice professionals are seconded by the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs.

He discussed his role as a senior adviser on the prosecution of international crimes in an interview with Irish Legal News in February 2023, shortly before taking up the post on a permanent basis.

As of this month, Mr Kelly is serving as head of the international crimes prosecution unit at EUAM Ukraine.

The unit provides advice, training and support to Ukrainian prosecutors, police and other officials in investigating and prosecuting international crimes.

Mr Kelly is a graduate of University College Cork, the University of Galway and is also presently undertaking studies at the University of Cambridge. He is qualified as a solicitor in Ireland, Northern Ireland, and England and Wales, as an attorney in Cambodia and as a barrister and solicitor in New Zealand.

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