MH17 crash: Netherlands calls for life sentence for suspects in downing of Malaysian plane

The prosecutors who have been fighting for the justice of at least 298 people killed in the plane shooting demanded life imprisonment for four suspects. During a court hearing on Wednesday, the Netherlands prosecutors said the accused had given a “deep and irreversible suffering” to relatives of the 298 people killed. The Prosecutors noted that the four recklessly used a Russian missile to bring down the passenger jet, killing all 298 passengers and crew. Notably, the prosecutors were demanding life sentences for four suspects who were allegedly the main accused in the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17. The plane which was on its way from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur had crashed on July 17, 2014, in Ukraine.

"The downing of MH17 with a Buk missile brutally ended the lives of all 298 people on board. Incredibly deep and irreversible suffering has been caused to the next of kin,” AP quoted Public prosecutor Manon Ridderbeks as saying during the court hours.
Meanwhile, Prosecutors told the court that the four accused--  Russians Igor Girkin, Sergey Dubinsky and Igor Pulatov as well as Ukrainian Leonid Kharchenko-- were separatist rebels fighting against the Ukrainian government forces in 2014. According to the prosecutor, they formed a group and intentionally brought down Ukrainian planes using a missile system. Prosecutor Thijs Berger told judges that it’s irrelevant that the suspects wanted to shoot down military and not civilian aircraft that had nearly 300 passengers on board.

“Legally speaking they were ordinary citizens, they were not allowed to commit any violence,” he said.

Still a long way for justice in the MH17 crash case

The prosecutors concluded that the plane was shot down by a Buk missile belonging to the Russian 53rd Anti Aircraft Missile Brigade that was driven to the launch location "by orders of and under the guidance of the suspects." Meanwhile, the relatives who came to the court to counter the claims of the suspect told AP that they were happy with the evidence produced by the attorney during the Wednesday hearing. But added that with prosecution arguments and the deliberation of judges still to come, and the possibility for appeals, justice still felt a long way off. “We just started coming in the right direction ... but the outcome will be in the future,” he said outside court.

With inputs from AP

Image: AP/Pixabay