After years of investigation and legal proceedings, the verdict in the MH17 trial will be delivered on Thursday. A life sentence has been demanded against the four men who are held responsible for the downing of flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine more than eight years ago. The plane crash killed all on board: 283 passengers and 15 crew members. Among them 50 people from Brabant.
Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 was en route from Schiphol to Kuala Lumpur on 17 July 2014. Due to overbooking and because passengers with a transfer arrived later at the gate at Schiphol, the flight departed 13 minutes later than planned. Around 3:40 p.m. Ukrainian time, three hours after departure, MH17 was shot down over eastern Ukraine.
What has been investigated?
Because there are so many Dutch victims, the Netherlands will be in charge of the international investigation into the cause of the plane crash. This was carried out by the Dutch Safety Board. The investigation showed that the aircraft was shot out of the air at an altitude of 10 kilometers by a missile of the BUK type. The Dutch Safety Board only looks at aviation safety and does not make any statements about guilt or liability.
On 7 August 2014, a Joint Investigations Team (JIT) was set up at the request of the Netherlands, Australia, Belgium and Ukraine. The ultimate goal of the JIT is to track down and prosecute those responsible for shooting down the aircraft.
‘Indisputably proven’
After years of investigation, the JIT says it has irrefutable evidence that flight MH17 was indeed shot down by a BUK missile. According to the researchers, the missile and its launch system were brought in from Russia. They rely on tapped telephone conversations, witness statements, videos and photos of the transport. According to Russia, that is not true. Incidentally, the Russians do not recognize the court in the Netherlands anyway.
On 19 June 2019, the JIT announced that it has issued arrest warrants for four men suspected of downing flight MH17 and the murder of the 298 occupants. The suspects have been placed on all international wanted lists, but have not yet appeared in court. Only one suspect is represented by both Russian and Dutch lawyers.
Igor Girkin
Girkin is the defense minister of separatist-held areas in eastern Ukraine. As the commander of the rebels, he was in charge of the forces that allegedly shot down the MH-17. Girkin was also the first to send out a ‘victory message’ after the plane crashed.
Sergei Dubinsky
He is the head of military intelligence in the area. Dubinsky is said to have brought the BUK missile to the area. His name can also be heard in tapped telephone conversations about the BUK.
Oleg Pulatov
Pulatov is Dubinsky’s assistant in eastern Ukraine and responsible for transporting the BUK missile to the launch site. Overheard conversations show that he was very close to the missile when it was fired. Pulatov is the only one of the four suspects to be assisted by a lawyer. The other suspects completely ignore the process.
Leonid Charthenko
The only non-Russian in the group. Kharchenko is a Ukrainian, without a military background. He joins the pro-Russian rebels and soon becomes commander. He is also said to be responsible for the transport of the BUK missile and to have returned the installation. It was Chartchenko who reported to Dubinsky after the attack that a ‘Ukrainian warplane’ had been shot down.
Bart and Jeanne Hornikx lost their only daughter in the disaster. Text continues below the video.
Court of Human Rights
On 10 July 2020, the Netherlands also took Russia to the European Court of Human Rights. This will allow the Netherlands to put more pressure on Russia, which has been frustrating the investigation and trial of the suspects for years. With this step, the Netherlands wants to support the complaints of a group of 380 surviving relatives, who have already filed a case against Russia at the European Court. The idea is that with this step, the Netherlands is also trying to hold Russia responsible for the disaster through other legal channels.
Whether the suspects, if convicted, will ever end up behind bars remains to be seen. Russia refuses to extradite the suspects to the Netherlands. They have also previously indicated that they will not come to the Netherlands for the trial. It is still unclear whether that will be different for Girkin if he can be caught in Ukraine.
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