Foreign
ALMOST seven years after the downing of passenger flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine, the trial against several people accused of shooting down the airliner moved into a decisive new phase on Monday.
Four men, three Russians and one Ukrainian were accused of involvement in the downing that killed all 298 people on board.
All of the defendants were fugitives and were being tried in absentia at the specially secured building near Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport.
Presiding Judge Hendrik Steenhuis opened the new phase of the trial, in which he promised the evidence would be neutrally considered by the court.
A verdict is not expected before the end of the year.
The extensive dossier of evidence will be formally presented on Tuesday.
The file runs more than 60,000 pages and also includes a wealth of video and audio recordings, as well as photos and telecommunications data.
The Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 was travelling from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur when it was shot down over contested territory on July 17, 2014.
A Dutch-led investigative team has linked the crash to a Buck anti-aircraft missile system, believed to have been transported to the conflict area from neighbouring Russia.
The Russian government has repeatedly denied allegations of involvement in the incident.
President Vladimir Putin had said Ukraine is solely responsible for the disaster.
Since most of the victims were from the Netherlands, the trial is taking place in that country.
After years of investigation, the preliminary hearings started in 2020, with involved parties working out procedural issues.
For the victims’ relatives, Monday was a difficult day. “We have waited a long time for this,’’ said Robbert van Heijningen, who lost his brother, sister-in-law and nephew.
“The great grief has been dealt with, but scars always break open.’’
Relatives will have their say in September, about 70 plan to exercise their right to speak at the trial.
According to the prosecution, the four defendants were in high positions within the movement of Russian-backed separatists fighting for territory in Ukraine.
The four were believed to be in Russia, only one of the defendants is represented by a lawyer.
The trial centres on three main questions: Firstly, was flight MH17 actually shot down by a Buck missile, prosecutors will present a slew of evidence in that regard to include witness testimony and video footage to prove the missile was transported from Russia.
Among other things, small parts of such a missile were found in the pilot’s body.
Then there is the question of the location from which the missile was fired.
The prosecution points to a field in eastern Ukraine where separatists were present.
The defence has cast doubt on this.
Finally, the court must consider whether the four defendants played a role in the launch.
The prosecution does not assume that they pressed the button themselves; however, it believes that they gave the order. (dpa/NAN)
– June 07, 2021 @ 16:39 GMT
Tags: MH17 trial enters decisive phase nearly 7- years after shoot down
