Dutch prosecutors demand long-term detention for MH17 defendants
Photo: Maxim Zmeyev / Reuters
The prosecutor's office in the Netherlands demanded that the defendants be sentenced to long-term imprisonment in the case of the crash of the Malaysian Boeing flight MH17 in Donbas. On Wednesday, December 22, TASS reports.
As noted by the prosecutor Teis Berger, the charges brought forward provide for the maximum punishment in the form of life imprisonment, since they are among the most serious under the criminal law of the country. “Obviously, only a long term of imprisonment in this case is an appropriate punishment,” he added.
The defendants in the case are three Russians – Igor Girkin, Sergey Dubinsky and Oleg Pulatov, as well as one Ukrainian – Leonid Kharchenko.
Earlier in December, the Dutch prosecutor's office said that the most likely version of the plane crash was a Buk anti-aircraft missile system (SAM) hitting the plane. At the same time, the prosecution insists that the air defense system was located in the territory occupied by the militia forces of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk people's republics.
The crash of a Malaysia Airlines passenger plane en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur occurred on July 17, 2014. Boeing flew over the territory of the military conflict in the Donbass. Immediately after the incident became known in the world, several versions of the events of the incident appeared – neither side wanted to take the blame. Later, the investigation concluded that the airliner had been shot down from the Buk air defense missile system.
Following the investigation, the Netherlands initiated several lawsuits against Russia. On December 8, the Hague Court began the process of compensation for the families of the victims of the disaster. The court received 301 claims for damages. Amsterdam continues to blame Russian citizens for involvement in the attack on Boeing. Moscow denies all charges.
