The Public Prosecution Service has not appealed against the verdict in the MH17 criminal case, so reports the OM Thursday night. Three suspects were sentenced to life imprisonment, while the fourth suspect, Oleg Pulatov, was acquitted. The Public Prosecution Service writes that it is “very satisfied” that the verdict has provided clarity to the next of kin about the “actual circumstances” of the downing of the Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 over eastern Ukraine on July 17, 2014. The disaster killed 298 people. life, including 193 Dutch people.
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According to the Public Prosecution Service, an appeal will mean “a great burden” for the next of kin, “because they will then remain in uncertainty about the outcome of the criminal case even longer.” The current verdicts would offer the next of kin “enough certainty” on a number of important topics. According to the Public Prosecution Service, the judgments also contain “clear considerations” about the evidential value of, among other things, witness statements, images and intercepted conversations, including the role of Russia. According to the Public Prosecution Service, this evidence cannot be used for appeal.
In the MH17 trial against the three Russian and one Ukrainian suspects, the acquittal of Pulatov on November 17 was seen as a big surprise. According to the court in The Hague, the former Russian professional soldier was not to blame for the downing of the plane. The court did consider it proven that the flight was shot down with a BUK missile from an area in eastern Ukraine occupied by separatists. Convicts Igor Girkin, Sergei Dubinsky and Leonid Chartsjenko were criminally responsible for this and were sentenced by the court to life imprisonment. The court deemed it “not proven that he is criminally responsible for this”.
None of the suspects was present during the MH17 trial and Russia does not extradite any nationals. The OM says that “continuous efforts” are being made to ensure that the convicts will serve their sentences.
Read also: After 8 years of life and a surprising acquittal in the MH17 trial