Dutch prosecutors on Wednesday demanded life sentences for four suspects in the downing of Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 over Ukraine in 2014. They said that the four men—three Russians and a Ukrainian—helped supply a missile system to Russian-backed rebels who fired a missile at the civilian flight and killed all 298 passengers aboard.
Public prosecutor Manon Ridderbicks called the incident “brutal” and said that it caused “incredibly deep and irreversible suffering” to the victims’ families. A day earlier, prosecutors said that the suspects were “fully responsible” for shooting down MH17 and accused them of murder.
They said that the Russians (Igor Girkin, Sergey Dubinsky and Igor Pulatov) and the Ukrainian (Leonid Kharchenko) were separatist rebels fighting the Ukrainian army in 2014. The prosecutors added that the four men had formed a team with the aim of bringing down Ukrainian planes by launching missiles from a Russian base. “They planned this violence beforehand and they organised it in close cooperation,” prosecutor Thijs Berger said.
However, the suspects are at large and are being tried in absentia. They are believed to be in Russia. The trial is being held in Amsterdam because almost 200 of the victims were Dutch citizens and the Netherlands holds Russia responsible for the deaths.
"Article 168 of the Dutch Criminal Code says that the downing of any plane that kills people is the crime."
— Bloomberg Quicktake (@Quicktake) December 23, 2021
Dutch prosecutors demanded life sentences for 4 suspects in the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine in 2014 pic.twitter.com/8JDOh1RicJ
The prosecutors said that the missile that shot down MH17 belonged to Russia’s 53rd Anti Aircraft Missile Brigade and was brought to the launch site “by orders of and under the guidance of the suspects.” They relied extensively on satellite images, social media posts, tapped conversations of the suspects discussing the downing of the plane, and analysis of the forensic evidence obtained from the wreckage to reach the conclusion.
However, it is highly unlikely that Russia will extradite the suspects, as Moscow has rejected all charges and repeatedly denied that a Russian missile was used to bring down the plane. Russia has also given its own version of events that international investigators have rejected.
The prosecutors’ demands came amid rising tensions between Moscow and western countries over a massive Russian troop buildup along the Ukrainian border. The United States (US) and its European allies have raised concerns over a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine in the early parts of next year. US intelligence reports have indicated the presence of 175,000 Russian troops at the border with Ukraine, drawing parallels to Russia’s invasion of the Crimean Peninsula in 2014. The US has also emphasised that it is ready to impose severe economic sanctions and military actions against Russia if it invades Ukraine.