A Dutch court said on Thursday that Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 was shot down in 2014 by a Russian-made missile fired from a field in eastern Ukraine, and that Russia was in full control of separatist forces in the country. when the plane was shot down.
The court released its decision concerning a case of four men with links to Russia accused of mass murder for their alleged roles in the crash of the flight. The suspects are Russians Igor Girkin, Sergey Dubinskiy and Oleg Pulatov and Ukrainian Leonid Kharchenko.
Passenger flight MH17 was shot down over eastern Ukraine on 17 July 2014, killing all 298 passengers and crew.
At the time, the area was the scene of fighting between pro-Russian separatists and Ukrainian forces, a precursor to this year’s conflict.
Moscow denies any involvement or responsibility for the downing of MH17, and in 2014 it also denied any presence in Ukraine. Following the court’s decision on Thursday, Russia’s foreign ministry said it would review the verdict.
“We will study this decision, because in these matters, all the nuances matter. After studying the legal document, we will probably be able to make a comment,” said Ivan Nechaev of the Russian Foreign Ministry.
Suspects believed they were targeting Ukrainian fighter jet, says indictment
Victims’ representatives say the decision will be a major milestone, although the suspects, all sentenced to life in prison, remain at large. All are believed to be in Russia, which will not extradite them.
Prosecutors say the suspects, three former Russian intelligence officers and a Ukrainian separatist military leader, helped organize and transport a Russian army BUK missile system to Ukraine that was used to shoot down the plane.
They were charged with shooting down a plane and with murder in a trial held under Dutch law. They can also be convicted of manslaughter if the judges of the District Court in The Hague find that the act was not premeditated.
Phone call intercepts, a key part of the evidence against the suspects, suggested they believed they were targeting a Ukrainian fighter jet.
None of the suspects attended the trial. Three of the men were tried in absentia and the fourth pleaded not guilty through lawyers he hired to represent him.
The victims of flight MH17, which was en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, were of 10 different nationalities. More than half were Dutch.
The investigation was led by the Netherlands, with participation from Ukraine, Malaysia, Australia and Belgium.
Source: CNN Brasil
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