In the context of the European Union-funded action to strengthen counter-terrorism efforts in the Maghreb region, the UNODC Terrorism Prevention Branch (UNODC/TPB), in close coordination and with the full support of the UNODC Sub-Regional Programme Office for Maghreb countries based in Tripoli, organized a one-week training on the use of special investigation techniques in criminal investigation of digital communications channels for a group of 12 Libyan investigators and criminal justice officials. The event took place in Velletri, Italy, from 18 to 22 April 2016.
The Libyan delegation was hosted by the Advanced Institute of Investigative Techniques (ISTI) of the Italian Carabinieri and trained by ISTI's experts on different techniques related to conducting criminal investigation through digital communication channels, including by providing legislative recommendations that could be valuable in the Libyan context.
The training combined technical aspects, to be mastered by investigators, and legal aspects, to be taken into consideration by both investigators and criminal justice officials when dealing with cases involving the use of digital communication channels. ISTI's experts shared their advanced technical knowledge and experience in relevant topics such as guidelines for handling digital evidence, in particular computer forensics and mobile forensics, e-mail investigations, crypto-currencies, including bitcoin investigations, Internet dark side (deep web and dark web), and lawful interception techniques in the cyberspace.
Finally, while at ISTI, participants benefitted from visits to different labs showing various crime scene scenarios, where they explored different techniques used to analyze and collect evidence.
Throughout the training, UNODC/TPB's and ISTI's experts emphasized rule of law considerations which should be strictly taken into account in all phases of digital investigation. The respect for the rule of law and human rights principles was also highlighted when experts presented procedures related to data collection to be put in place in order to avoid its unlawful and arbitrary access, disclosure and use.
Libyan participants expressed their full appreciation for the wealth of experience shared by UNODC/TPB's and ISTI's experts and requested UNODC/TPB to develop follow-up trainings covering digital investigation and crime scenes management as the country is in urgent need for legal and capacity building support with respect to both issues.
