On Thursday, the Russian Foreign Ministry slammed The Hague’s decision to sentence two Russians and one Ukrainian to life in prison for shooting down the Malaysian Airlines MH17 aeroplane while it was flying over eastern Ukraine—killing all 298 on board—as “politically motivated.”
In a statement, the Ministry asserted, “These court hearings in the Netherlands have every chance of becoming one of the most scandalous in justice history with its long list of irregularities, discrepancies and questionable arguments from prosecutors, which became the basis for the verdict,” adding, “We deeply regret that the District Court of The Hague discarded the principles of impartial justice to conform to the current political agenda thus delivering a grave reputational blow to the entire court system of the Netherlands.”
"The court has ascertained that the Russian Federation coordinated military actions in the DPR, finanzed and provided weapons to the militants, but also undertook military actions on its own. Russia was in full control of the DPR"
— Christo Grozev (@christogrozev) November 17, 2022
It also accused Ukraine of giving “false and contradictory information” and refusing to share radar data from the day of the incident. Furthermore, it alleged that the United States (US) denied the judges’ request to look at images of the tragedy captured by American satellites, stressing, “It is still unclear what the most ardent accusers of Russia are concealing. The fact that this has never worried the judges is cause for sincere astonishment.”
In fact, in October 2020, Russia said that it would withdraw from discussions with the Netherlands and Australia over the MH17 investigation, citing the two countries’ “vicious” attempts to blame Moscow for the incident.
Today’s #MH17 trial verdicts show that Russia's lies don't beat justice. An important step towards justice for victims and their loved ones.
— Kaja Kallas (@kajakallas) November 17, 2022
It's also a reminder: Russia's aggression in Ukraine started already 8 years ago. We must help Ukraine win and ensure full accountability.
The District Court of The Hague sentenced ex-Federal Security Service (FSB) officer Col. Igor Girkin, former Russian GRU officer Sergey Dubinskiy, and pro-Russian Ukrainian separatist leader Leonid Kharchenko to life imprisonment with “no reasonable doubt” for transporting the Russian Buk surface-to-air missile from a Russian base to Ukraine, which was used to ultimately shoot down the plane, and ordered them to pay $16.5 million to the victims’ families.
“Causing the crash of Flight MH17 and the murders of all persons on board is such a serious accusation, the consequences are so devastating, and the attitude of the accused is so reprehensible, that a limited period of imprisonment will not suffice,” the court stated. The 298 passengers of the plane, which was flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur on 17 July, 2014, came from 17 countries, including 198 Dutch citizens, 43 Malaysians, 38 Australians, and 10 Britons.
It was easy for Western policymakers and governments to accept this was an internal conflict to avoid confronting Russian aggression, but we're seeing the cost of that inaction now, not just to Ukraine, but to the whole world with energy and food crises.
— Eliot Higgins (@EliotHiggins) November 17, 2022
All three were tried in absentia and are suspected to be absconding in Russia or living in a Russian-controlled region in Ukraine. The court also acquitted Oleg Pulatov, another Russian, who worked under Dubinskiy and was the only one with legal representation at the over two-year-long trial. In a video testimony, he said, “What matters to me is that the truth is revealed. It’s important for me that my country is not blamed for this tragedy.”
Girkin has previously remarked that he felt a “moral responsibility” for the incident but has not admitted his involvement and has criticised the court hearings. According to sources, he has joined the ongoing Ukraine war and has a $100,000 bounty on him, crowdfunded by Ukrainians.
Slutsky’s full comments on MH17 which turn Kyiv’s comments comparing Kremlin narratives on the Poland attack to Russia’s conspiracies on MH17 on its heads https://t.co/K0knqXqEt0
— Samuel Ramani (@SamRamani2) November 17, 2022
The MH17 flight was shot down near a village in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine that was going through a serious conflict between Ukrainian forces and largely Russia-backed separatist forces. Several Ukrainian fighter jets were shot down before the MH17, with airspace up to 32,000 feet closed. However, the MH17 was said to be flying at 33,000 feet.
During its hearings, the court rejected all of the defence’s conspiracies, which accused Ukrainian fighter jets of firing at the civilian plane or something else hitting the plane. Though Presiding Judge Hendrik Steenhuis accepted that the defendants did not realise it was a civilian plane until it was too late, he noted “such an error did not change the intent.”
The court also emphasised that the accused were not permitted to shoot at any aircraft – military or civilian.
Important court decision in The Hague. First sentences for the perpetrators of #MH17 downing. Holding to account masterminds is crucial too, as the feeling of impunity leads to new crimes. We must dispel this illusion. Punishment for all RF's atrocities then & now is inevitable.
— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) November 17, 2022
The prosecutors have also alleged that the Russian government was involved, claiming that the entire region was under the Kremlin’s control. To this end, the Netherlands also filed a complaint against Russia at the European Court of Human Rights in July 2020; the court’s ruling regarding the petition’s admissibility is slated to come later this year.
Following the ruling this week, the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign affairs declared that Russia should be held accountable, as the “transfer of Buk-TELAR to terrorists is obvious breach of the international law, specifically, of the International Convention on Suppression of Financing of Terrorism.”
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, too, stated that “more work lies ahead to meet the United Nations (UN) Security Council’s demand in resolution 2166 that “those responsible…be held to account,”” possibly referring to Moscow.