The trial of three Russians and one Ukrainian accused of murdering 298 people in the shooting down of the MH17 aircraft over eastern Ukraine has begun in the Netherlands.
The presiding judge, Hendrik Steenhuis, said “the loss of so many lives and the manner in which they so abruptly ended is barely conceivable”, as he opened the case at the Schiphol judicial complex, close to the airport from where the Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 took off for Kuala Lumpur on 17 July 2014.
The aircraft never reached its destination: it was shot down over the conflict zone in eastern Ukraine by a Buk anti-aircraft missile, killing everyone onboard. The victims came from 17 countries. Most – 198 people – were Dutch nationals, alongside Malaysians, Australians, Indonesians and British citizens.
“Especially for next of kin this will be a very painful and emotional period,” Steenhuis said as he opened proceedings by describing how Dutch criminal law treats defendants and victims.
After a painstaking international investigation, Dutch prosecutors alleged that four men had responsibility for the missile launch: the Russians Igor Girkin, Sergey Dubinskiy and Oleg Pulatov, as well as a Ukrainian, Leonid Kharchenko. All were senior commanders in the Russian-backed Donetsk People’s Republic, fighting Ukrainian forces.
None of the men were expected to appear in court on Monday, as Russia does not extradite its citizens. Pulatov has appointed two Dutch lawyers, who first presented to the court in January. “They have had but a brief space of time to prepare for this hearing,” Steenhuis said.
Nine lawyers have been hired to represent some of the victims and their families: they also have the right to speak in court, alongside public prosecutors and the defence.
The trial, which will also include testimony from the family of the victims, is expected to last several months. Lawyers will pore over a case file that already stands at 36,000 pages, as well as many digital pieces of evidence. So far, 49 relatives have said they wish to address the court and 82 will give written statements on how the death of their loved ones has affected their lives. More may decide to give written or oral statements.
Liz Mayne has written a statement describing how the death of her son Richard, a 20-year student at Leeds University on his way to Australia, has “completely broken” her family.
Richard’s father, Simon, said Monday’s court session is the beginning of a process that could last 30 years. He told the Guardian that the political state of Russia a decade in the future is unknowable: “It is important to establish the facts now. The trial will reveal the chain of command right back to the Kremlin. That may one day become important.”
As of Monday, 84 relatives have exercised their right under Dutch law to seek compensation.
Russia has always denied any involvement in the shooting down of the plane.
Last week, the Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accused Dutch authorities of orchestrating a media campaign to compensate for “gaps in the evidence” and assembling facts to fit a predetermined verdict.
In 2016, the Dutch-led joint investigation team (JIT) said it had found “irrefutable evidence” the Buk missile had been fired from a village under the control of pro-Russia rebels. The court is also expected to hear details of intercepted phone calls that show separatist leaders requesting help from senior Kremlin advisers, shortly before the downing of MH17.
The opening sessions will not get into these details, but will be devoted to what Steenhuis called “mapping out the current state of play”. He said that meant “who will appear at the beginning of these hearings? Is there counsel for the defendants? Are there counsel for next of kin? What is the state of play on the criminal investigation? Is the case ready to be dealt with on the merits or is further investigation necessary?”
After the opening 30 minutes, the court session, which is being streamed over the internet in English and Dutch, was suspended for “technical reasons”.
In a statement before the opening session, the Nato secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, described the trial as “an important milestone in the efforts to ensure justice for the 298 victims and their families”.
He said: “I welcome the commitment of the joint investigation team to establish the facts of the case and I have full confidence in the independence and professionalism of the Dutch legal system.
It remains essential to establish truth, accountability and justice for the downing of flight MH17, in line with United Nations security council resolution 2166. All countries have a responsibility to fully cooperate with these efforts.”
The EU foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, struck a similar note reflecting on the tragedy that caused the death of 298 innocent civilians and called on Russia to cooperate fully with the investigation.
source https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/09/mh17-plane-crash-trial-opens-in-the-hague-malaysia-airlines-flight
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