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Council of Europe representatives to assist in investigating Odessa tragedy

At least 48 people died and 247 were injured in the clashes and the fire in the Trade Unions House in Odessa on May 2

Fire at the House of Trade Unions in Odessa, May 2, 2014 ITAR-TASS/Andrey Borovsky

Fire at the House of Trade Unions in Odessa, May 2, 2014

© ITAR-TASS/Andrey Borovsky

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Poroshenko calls for more transparency in Odessa events investigation

PARIS, April 30. /TASS/. Representatives of the International Consultative Group of the Council of Europe (CE) will arrive in Ukraine at the beginning of June to assist in the investigation of last year’s tragedy in Odessa, the CE headquarters in Strasbourg said on Thursday.

The consultative group representatives will meet with authorities in Kiev and Odessa, the CE said, adding that a new official list of questions to Ukraine’s prosecutors may be made after the visit to Ukraine.

The Council of Europe hopes that a report on the investigation of Odessa’s tragedy will be ready in autumn. It was earlier planned to complete the report by the beginning of 2015.

The International Consultative Group on Ukraine was set up by Council of Europe Secretary General Thorbjorn Jagland to help investigate the events on Maidan in February 2014. The activity of the group was later expanded to follow the developments around the tragedy in Odessa on May 2, when at least 48 people died and 247 were injured in the clashes and the fire in the Trade Unions House.

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