THREE RUSSIANS, ONE UKRAINIAN TO BE TRIED FOR MURDER IN MH17 TRIAL
The four men were senior commanders of the Donetsk People’s Republic, backed by Russia, a separatist organization fighting Ukrainian forces at the time of the accident, according to the Guardian. Although they were not extradited from Russia or Ukraine, the trial against them began in his absence on Monday at the Schiphol Judicial Complex, located near Amsterdam-Schiphol Airport in the Netherlands, where Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 or MH17 took off on 17 July. , 2014.
The Boeing 777 bound for the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur was shot down over a conflict zone in eastern Ukraine by a Buk anti-aircraft missile, killing everyone on board. The victims were from 17 different countries. Most – 198 people – were Dutch. Malaysians, Australians, Indonesians and British citizens also perished.
It took 18 minutes for prosecutor Dedy Woei-a-Tsoi to read out the victims’ names as relatives of the dead listened in the courtroom, with some bowing their heading and closing their eyes, according to the Associated Press. Presiding Judge Hendrik Steenhuis and two others will hear the case. Two alternate judges were also present in court Monday.
Piet Ploeg, who lost his brother, Alex, his sister-in-law and nephew, sat in court with his hands crossed in front of him, listening intently to the beginning of the case. He said his nephew had been returned in 80 pieces, and that he helps maintain a list from the Forensic Institute of his portions of paintings that were recovered from the crash site in his safe, the BBC reported.
The deceased’s families also placed 298 white chairs in rows resembling the seats of the open-air planes at the Russian Embassy in The Hague on Sunday to protest what they see as Moscow’s planned attempts to hide the fact about what happened.
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Jon and Meryn O’Brien had traveled from Sydney to witness the beginning of the unprecedented trial in the Netherlands, hoping justice would be done for their son Jack.
“Judgment is vital because the fact counts,” Jon said on the eve of the trial. “You deserve not to be able to homicidal 298 other people and that there are no consequences, no matter who you are. It is therefore vital that the fact is told about it.
One of the Russian suspects, Pulatov, hired a Dutch defence team that attended the start of the trial, the BBC reported. Moscow has continually denied any involvement in the crash, even after prosecutors claimed that the Buk missile formula that destroyed the passenger plane had been transported to Ukraine from the base of the 53rd Russian Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade in Kursk and that the release formula then returned to Russia.
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In Moscow last week, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accused investigators of presuming Russia’s guilt. In a statement, British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab called the trial “an important milestone toward accountability for the shooting down of MH17” and the deaths of 298 people, including 10 Britons.
Under Dutch law, members of the family circle are allowed to make an effect on the statements and seek compensation. That’s probably going to take place later this year.
The Associated Press contributed to the report.