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Four charged with murder over 2014 downing of MH17
The suspects are likely to be tried in absentia as the Netherlands has said Russia has not cooperated with the investigation and is not expected to hand anyone over.
Three Russians and a Ukrainian will face murder charges for the July 2014 downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine in which 298 people were killed, an investigation team said on Wednesday. The trial is scheduled for next March in the Netherlands.
The suspects are likely to be tried in absentia as the Netherlands has said Russia has not cooperated with the investigation and is not expected to hand anyone over.
The Dutch-led international team tasked with assigning criminal responsibility for the plane’s destruction named the four suspects as Russians Sergey Dubinsky, Oleg Pulatov and Igor Girkin, and Ukrainian Leonid Kharchenko.
International arrest warrants for the four have been issued.
MH17 was shot out of the sky on July 17, 2014, over territory held by pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine as it was flying from Amsterdam to the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur. Everyone on board was killed.
Most of those on board were Dutch. The joint investigation team formed by Australia, Belgium, Malaysia, the Netherlands and Ukraine found that the plane was shot down by a Russian missile.
‘Unfounded’ Charges
MOSCOW: Russia has slammed “unfounded accusations” by international investigators.
“Absolutely unfounded accusations are being made against the Russian side, aimed at discrediting Russia in the eyes of the international community,” the foreign ministry said.
