passenger flight
MH17 shot down over eastern Ukraine: verdict in November
The Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777, reassembled from rubble, shot down as Flight MH17 over Ukraine. photo
© Peter Dejong/AP/dpa
All 298 people on board were killed, most of them Dutch. The verdict is now due on November 17 – four high-ranking pro-Russian separatists at the time have been charged.
More than eight years after the downing of the passenger flight MH17 with 298 deaths over eastern Ukraine, the verdict against the four alleged main people responsible is to be announced on November 17. This was announced by the competent Dutch criminal court in The Hague.
According to the indictment, four high-ranking pro-Russian separatists at the time were responsible for the Malaysia Airlines plane being shot down on July 17, 2014 on its way from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur by a Russian Buk anti-aircraft missile.
All 298 people on board were killed, most of them Dutch. Therefore, the process also takes place in this country. The process began in March 2020. It was conducted in the absence of the accused.
The prosecution has asked for life imprisonment. The accused are believed to be in Russia, which has refused extradition. Moscow has denied any responsibility and blamed Ukraine.
For years, an international team of experts collected evidence, including photos, satellite images, tapped telephone conversations and radio traffic. On this basis, three Russians and one Ukrainian were charged. According to the indictment, they should be responsible for the procurement, transport and use of the anti-aircraft missile.
Only Oleg Pulatov, then deputy head of the separatists’ secret service, had been represented in court. In a video message to the court, he denied any guilt. The defense criticized the prosecution for being biased, saying there was insufficient evidence of the use of the Buk missile and their client’s guilt.
notification of the court