June 13-14, 2024, Dushanbe, Tajikistan: In today’s digital landscape, obtaining electronic evidence from other jurisdictions and oversea service providers is vital for tracing the movements of terrorist suspects, understanding their communications, identifying planned and committed crimes, and ultimately ensuring thorough investigations and enhanced border security.
Despite mutual legal assistance (MLA) being the primary method for acquiring such evidence, the current system is often intricate and bureaucratic, leading to substantial delays. This sluggish pace does not align with the swift nature of online and cross-border digital crime, where the internet’s lack of territorial boundaries complicates the situation. Additionally, the cloud computing has introduced new jurisdictional challenges, necessitating careful deliberation on where to send MLA requests. Modern terrorist incidents underscore the need for immediate responses, data preservation, and urgent international cooperation. Electronic evidence moves rapidly across borders, and relying on MLA can be slow and cumbersome, particularly for those unfamiliar with the process.
Countries also face numerous hurdles in this area. Sending a direct request does not guarantee compliance from overseas service providers. Requests are frequently rejected for reasons such as exceeding the authority or jurisdiction of the requesting agency, lacking proper authorization, containing incorrect dates, improper addressing, errors, overly broad scope, or incorrect submission channels.
In response to these challenges, UNODC organised seminar training on procedures of requesting digital evidence from service providers located in foreign jurisdictions for terrorism related investigations. This support helps them to identify, preserve, collect, and acquire the electronic data necessary to investigate terrorism offences, ensuring its use as court evidence and facilitating cross-border and jurisdictional data handling without compromising its admissibility and probative value.
During his opening remarks, the representative from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Tajikistan highlighted, that "today, we witness an increase in terrorist activities posing significant threats to global peace, particularly in Central Asia. Tajikistan, due to its geographical position, is at the frontline of countering these threats. Maintaining peace and security is a top priority for the Tajik government, and they recognize the need for ongoing training and effective coordination with neighbouring states and relevant agencies in response to terrorist threats."
During the two-day seminar, participants raised various issues and, in their feedback, emphasized the importance of the knowledge they gained. Many were previously unaware of existing mechanisms for investigating terrorism-related crimes and expressed a need for more training in this area. They appreciated the opportunity to participate and sought further knowledge in counterterrorism, recognizing that combating this global issue requires ongoing collaboration and support from the international community.
