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| The Joint Investigation Team named the four suspects who they said would be tried for murder next year (AFP Photo/Robin van Lonkhuijsen) |
Nieuwegein (Netherlands) (AFP) - International investigators on Wednesday charged three Russians and a Ukrainian with murder over the shooting down of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, the first people to face justice over the tragedy five years ago in which 298 people were killed.
The trial
of the four men with military and intelligence links will start in the
Netherlands in March next year, although they are likely to be tried in
absentia as neither Russia nor Ukraine extradites their nationals.
Moscow
slammed the "absolutely unfounded accusations" over the downing of
the plane, which was travelling between Amsterdam and Kuala Lumpur when it was
hit by a missile over part of eastern Ukraine held by pro-Russian rebels.
The
Dutch-led inquiry team said international arrest warrants had been issued for
Russian nationals Igor Girkin, Sergei Dubinsky and Oleg Pulatov, and Ukrainian
Leonid Kharchenko, all of whom are suspected of roles in the separatist Donetsk
People's Republic.
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Graphic
showing previously established details about the shooting down of
Malaysia
Airlines MH17 in 2014. (AFP Photo/John SAEKI, Adrian LEUNG, Gal ROMA)
|
Dutch
prosecutor Fred Westerbeke said the four were to be held responsible for
bringing the BUK missile system from Russia into eastern Ukraine "even
though they have not pushed the button themselves."
"We
won't demand their extradition because Russian and Ukrainian law forbids the
extradition of their nationals. But we ask Russia once more to cooperate --
many of our questions remain unanswered," he told a press conference.
The same
investigation team said in May 2018 that the BUK anti-aircraft missile which
hit the Boeing 777 had originated from the 53rd Russian military brigade based
in the southwestern city of Kursk.
'Waiting
for five years'
Relatives
of those killed aboard MH17 welcomed the news.
"It's
a start. I'm satisfied," Silene Fredriksz, whose son and daughter-in-law
were killed in the disaster, told reporters. "I am happy that the trial is
finally going to start and that the names have been announced."
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Relatives
of passengers and crew have waited for five years for a trial (AFP Photo/
MOHD
RASFAN)
|
Asked if
she personally blamed anyone for the crash, Fredriksz said: "Mr (Russian
President Vladimir) Putin. Because he made this possible. He created this
situation. He is the main responsible person."
Piet Ploeg,
president of a Dutch victims' association who lost three family members on
MH17, told AFP that it was "very important news".
"The
relatives of the victims have been waiting for this for nearly five
years," he said.
Girkin, 48,
is the most high-profile suspect, having previously been the self-proclaimed
defence minister in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic in eastern
Ukraine before apparently falling out with the Kremlin.
Girkin, who
is thought to be living in Moscow, denied the separatists were involved.
"I can only say that rebels did not shoot down the Boeing," he told
Russia's Interfax news agency.
Dubinskiy,
56, who was formerly in the Russian military intelligence agency GRU, was head
of the intelligence service of the Donetsk People's Republic, while Pulatov,
52, an ex-soldier in the GRU's Spetznaz special forces unit, was one of his
deputies.
Kharchenko was a military commander in Donetsk at the time, the Dutch prosecutors said.
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MH17 was
travelling between Amsterdam and Kuala Lumpur when it was hit by a missile
over
part of eastern Ukraine held by pro-Russian rebels (AFP Photo/Menahem KAHANA)
|
Kharchenko was a military commander in Donetsk at the time, the Dutch prosecutors said.
During the
press conference by the investigators, number of telephone intercepts were
played that they said showed the four were involved.
'Absolutely unfounded'
Russia
vehemently denied all involvement, and complained that it had been excluded
from the probe.
"Once
again, 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 in a statement on its website.
Russia
insisted last year that the missile was fired by Kiev's forces, adding that it
was sent to Ukraine in the Soviet era.
Despite claims by Ukraine's government and Dutch media that senior Russian officers would also face charges, none were named by the prosecutors on Wednesday.
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The war in eastern Ukraine and the MH17 disaster continue to plague relations
between Russia and the West (AFP Photo/Alexander KHUDOTEPLY)
|
Despite claims by Ukraine's government and Dutch media that senior Russian officers would also face charges, none were named by the prosecutors on Wednesday.
The Joint
Investigation Team (JIT) probing the attack includes Australia, Belgium,
Malaysia, the Netherlands and Ukraine, representing the countries hardest hit
by the disaster.
The
Netherlands and Australia said in May last year that they formally "hold
Russia responsible" for the disaster. Of the passengers who died, 196 were
Dutch and 38 Australian.
Australia
said Wednesday's announcement was a "significant step" towards
achieving justice, while NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said it was "an
important milestone in the efforts to uncover the full truth".
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A serial
number on a part of the BUK missile that was fired (AFP Photo/Robin
van
Lonkhuijsen)
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Ukraine's
foreign ministry urged Russia to "acknowledge its responsibility",
while the office of President Volodymyr Zelensky's said he hoped to see
"everyone who is to blame for the murder of innocent children, women and
men" go on trial.
The war in
eastern Ukraine and the MH17 disaster continue to plague relations between
Russia and the West.
Since 2014,
some 13,000 people have been killed. Kiev and its Western backers accuse Russia
of funnelling troops and arms to back the separatists. Moscow has denied the
claims despite evidence to the contrary.
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