Showing posts with label MH17. Show all posts
Showing posts with label MH17. Show all posts

08 February, 2023

Russian President Vladimir Putin approved supply of missiles that shot down MH17 in 2014

The international team investigating the shooting down of  Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 operating flight MH17 by a  BUK-TELAR missile system said today, it has convincing evidence that Russian President Vladimir Putin personally approved the decision to allow the missile system into Ukraine.

MH17 was on its way from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur on 17th July 2014 and was in the sky over the eastern part of Ukraine when the Russian-made and Russian-supplied BUK-TELAR missile system was used to shoot it down, killing all 298 passengers and crew onboard. 

In a statement, the international prosecutors said: "There are strong indications that the Russian president decided on supplying the Buk TELAR to the DPR (Donetsk People's Republic) separatists,' the investigators."   The team also said they were suspending the criminal investigation into the atrocity as they have insufficient evidence to launch any new prosecutions.

The Netherlands will continue to hold Russia to account for its part in the shooting down of the 777, the Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said on Wednesday.  He said it was a "bitter disappointment" that there would be no further prosecutions, but promised, "We will continue to call the Russian Federation to account for its role in this tragedy,"







17 November, 2022

Dutch court finds three men guilty of murder following the shooting down of MH17 in July 2014,

 
MH17 was partly reconstructed as part of the investigation into the disaster.
Photo
 Piroschka van de Wouw/Reuters
Today a Dutch court has found three men guilty of the mass murder of 298 people and unlawfully causing an aeroplane to crash in the shooting down of Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 operating flight MH17 on 17th July 2014. 


Two Russians and a Ukrainian,   Leonid Kharchenko, Sergei Dubinsky and  Igor Girkin were all found guilty in their absence with each getting a life sentence. A third Russian, Oleg Pulatov, the only one to employ legal representation during the trial was acquitted by the judges. 

The 777 was operating flight MH17 between Amsterdam and Kula Lumpur and was shot down with a Buk missile launcher that was Russian-made and supplied. The jet had 298 onboard at the time, coming from 17 countries, the majority - 196 were from the Netherlands, 43 from Malaysia, 38 from Australia and 10 from the UK.


Sergei Dubinsky ordered and oversaw the transport of the Buk missile launcher
Leonid Kharchenko oversaw the Buk, acting on Dubinsky's instructions.
Igor Girkin, was the military leader of the Donetsk People's Republic, who was convicted of deploying the missile and seeking Russian help.
The UK's Foreign Secretary James Cleverly gave a statement following the conclusion of the flight MH17 trial:
"Today’s guilty verdict, convicting 3 individuals of murder in relation to the downing of MH17, is an important step in securing justice for the families of the victims.

Two hundred and ninety eight lives, including those of 10 British nationals, were tragically lost on 17 July 2014. Thousands more have been devastated in the years since, as family and friends continue to grieve for their loved ones.

The downing of MH17 was a shocking violation of international norms which keep our societies safe. It serves as a stark reminder of the human cost of Russia’s actions in Ukraine over many years.

My thoughts remain with the families of all those killed in this heinous attack, including people from the Netherlands, Malaysia, Australia, Indonesia, Belgium, Germany, the Philippines, New Zealand and Canada."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said: "An important court decision in The Hague. The first sentences for the perpetrators of downing MH17. Punishment for all RF's [Russia's] atrocities then & now is inevitable."

The Dutch prime minister, Mark Rutte, said: "This is yet another step in the pursuit of truth and justice for the victims and their loved ones. And important as this verdict is, it is not the final conclusion … It is not the end. All parties will have the right to appeal, so the judgment is not yet final. But to reiterate, an important step has been taken today."


14 March, 2022

Legal action started against Russia over the shooting down of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17

Legal action has been started against Russia over the shooting down of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 some eight years ago by Australia and the Netherlands.

The two nations say they have begun the joint legal action against Russia at the United Nations' International Civil Aviation Organization. The Dutch Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra said: "The death of 298 civilians, including 196 Dutch, cannot and should not remain without consequences. The current events in Ukraine underscore the vital importance of this,"  

The rare procedure comes under an article of ICAO's Chicago Convention designed to protect civilian aircraft from weapons fire. It was added in 1984 following the shooting down of a South Korean airliner by Soviet fighters the previous year.

The Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 aircraft was operating flight MH17 flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur on July 17, 2014. Air traffic control lost contact with the aircraft approximately 50km (30 miles) from the Russia-Ukraine border. The aircraft was then hit by a BUK missile breaking up midair and crashing down over the Donetsk area, killing all 298 onboard and shocking the world.
   
Scott Morrison, Prime Minister of Australia told the media that Russia was responsible under international law and that taking the matter to the UN's International Civil Aviation Organization would be a step forward in the fight for victims, including 38 Australians. He said also said the invasion of Ukraine was "unprovoked and unjustified" which highlighted the requirement to hold Russia to account for its "blatant violation of international law".

Australia and the Netherlands advised they would rely on the evidence uncovered by a Joint Investigation Team (JIT) which found that all the vehicles in a convoy carrying the missile launcher were part of the Russian armed forces. It had been driven in to Ukraine from Russia on the day of the incident. The BUK launcher and missiles had been supplied by Russia's 53rd anti-aircraft brigade in Kursk and it was driven back across the border the day after.  
 







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19 June, 2019

Three Russians and one Ukrainian named in MH17 criminal charges

Photo Reuters
The Dutch led joint investigation team looking into the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 has named Igor Girkin, Sergei Dubinsky and Oleg Pulatov from Russia, as well as Ukrainian Leonid Kharchenko as responsible for the murder of the 298 passengers and crew on the jet.

The passenger jet was on a scheduled flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur on 17th July 2014 when it was shot down over a Russian controlled area of  Ukraine.

24 May, 2018

MH17 investigation team confirms plane was shot down by Russian BUK missile

It was the Russians!  That's the proclamation from the official investigators looking into to events of the 17th July 2014 that caused the downing of   Malaysia Airlines flight over eastern Ukraine.

All 298 people on the Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 were killed when the aircraft blew apart mid-air on a flight heading to Kuala Lumpur from Amsterdam.   Air traffic control lost contact with the aircraft approximately 50km (30 miles) from the Russia-Ukraine border.  It crashed in the Donetsk area, in territory controlled by pro-Russian separatists.

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