The Malaysia Airlines flight was on its way from Amsterdam in the Netherlands to the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur when it was shot down over eastern Ukraine on 17 July 2014. All 298 people on board died, most of them Dutch. The trial has been held in Badhoevedorp in the Netherlands near Schiphol Airport. Judge Hendrik Steenhuis began the sentence this afternoon by stating that it was a Russian-made missile that was used and that Russia at this time had control over eastern Ukraine. The court concluded that the missile was launched intentionally, but that those behind it thought they were attacking a military aircraft and not a passenger plane. This does not reduce the seriousness of what has happened, says the judge. The two Russian citizens Igor Girkin and Sergej Dubinsky, and Ukrainian Leonid Khartchenko, were all convicted of being behind the shooting. The evidence did not make it possible to conclude which of the convicts gave the order to shoot, but that all are accomplices. – In that moment these people were robbed of their lives and their futures, said the judge on Thursday. – Their lives were not over, or had even just begun. This also turned the lives of their relatives upside down. Girkin, Dubinsky and Khartjenko receive prison sentences, and are ordered to pay compensation of more than 60 million euros to relatives of the deceased. Russian Oleg Pulativ was acquitted, and is thus not considered to have been behind the shooting. All at large All the accusers were charged with the shooting in 2019. Two of the Russians are linked to Russian intelligence, while the third is an officer in the Russian defense. Khartchenko led a separatist fighting group in the Donetsk region. These four men from Ukraine and Russia have been convicted of being behind the shooting. Photo: EVA PLEVIER / Reuters They have been wanted internationally, but have refused to appear in the trial, which has been going on for two and a half years. The prosecution submitted a request for life imprisonment for all four defendants. An international team of investigators has concluded that the missile used originated from Russia’s 53rd Air Defense Brigade, stationed in Kursk, Russia. Using video analysis, investigators determined that the mobile launch pad was driven to eastern Ukraine. Wiretapping of telephone conversations has also been among the key pieces of evidence in the case. According to the footage, the men believed they were shooting down a Ukrainian fighter jet. – Can never forgive them Spokespersons for the survivors say today’s sentence is an important milestone in the case, although it is unlikely that those involved will ever serve the sentences. It is believed that they are in Russia and that the Russians are not going to hand them over. Russia has consistently denied having anything to do with the shooting, or that they were even in Ukraine at the time. Evert van Zijtveld will not rest until those responsible for the death of the children and parents-in-law are punished. Photo: JOHN THYS / AFP Evert van Zijtveld from the Dutch town of Vleuten lost his 19-year-old daughter and 18-year-old son and his parents-in-law in the attack. – Those who were responsible must be sent to prison. If they are guilty, the international community must hunt them down, Zijtveld said on Sunday in an interview with the AFP news agency. Every evening since July 2014, Zijtveld has lit candles for the deceased family members. – Anger is not the right word. I’m just terribly sorry. My children and my parents-in-law were going on holiday in the East. Then they were killed. They were wonderful people, says Zijtveld. He says the defendants are cowards who did not appear in court to answer the charges against them. – I cannot forgive them. I can never do that, he says.
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Three men convicted of shooting down Malaysian airliner in 2014 – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
