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Agence France-Presse

Dutch judges said on Monday they wanted relatives of victims to finally have “clarity” about the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over Ukraine as the trial of four suspects entered a key phase.
Some relatives were in court for the start of a week in which judges will at last examine evidence against the three Russians and one Ukrainian, who are on trial in absentia over the July 2014 disaster.
The trial formally began in March 2020 but has until now dealt with legal arguments, mainly about the admissibility of evidence in the crash in which all 298 passengers and crew on the Boeing 777 were killed.
“Up until today no one has come forward and said they are even partially responsible for the crash of MH17,” presiding judge Hendrik Steenhuis told the court.
Russian suspect in downing of MH17 denies any involvement
Steenhuis said it was crucial for the evidence to be heard in open court despite the absence of Russian nationals Oleg Pulatov, Igor Girkin and Sergei Dubinsky, and Ukrainian citizen Leonid Kharchenko.
Only Pulatov has legal representation.
“The hearing being public is important to society in general, and to the relatives particularly, that there will be clarity about the result of the investigation after years of investigation,” the judge said.
Judges said the court will this week look at evidence about three key questions: whether the Boeing 777 was shot down by a Russian-made missile; the location the missile was fired from; and the role of the four suspects in the crash.
The idea that the plane had been downed by a BUK surface-to-air missile operated by pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine was the “main scenario”, Steenhuis added, but they would also look at theories including that a plane had shot down MH17.
The court would be highlighting key parts of the evidence and not going over every part in court, he warned.
“The file consists of 65,000 pages, and many hundreds of hours of video and audio recordings. It’s such a large case it’s simply not possible to speak about every detail,” the judge said.
Australia, Netherlands slam Russia’s exit from MH17 crash talks
The prosecution and defence will have the chance to raise issues during hearings lasting until July 9. Relatives of the victims will be able to address the court in September.
The jet was travelling from Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport to Kuala Lumpur when it was shot down over part of eastern Ukraine controlled by pro-Russian rebels.
An international investigation concluded that a BUK missile that had originally come from the Russian army’s 53rd Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade based in the city of Kursk was responsible.

All four suspects are accused of being key figures among the separatist rebels battling Kiev. Girkin, also known by his pseudonym “Strelkov”, is a former Russian spy and historical re-enactment fan who helped kick-start the war in Ukraine.
Dubinsky, who has also been tied to Russian intelligence, allegedly served as the separatists’ military intelligence chief while Pulatov was an ex-Russian special forces soldier and one of Dubinsky’s deputies.
Kharchenko allegedly led a separatist unit in eastern Ukraine.
MH17 trial: Dutch prosecutors claim Russia interfered with probe
Pulatov said in a video played to the court in November that he had seen no sign of any missile.
The trial is being held in the Netherlands, in a secure courtroom near Schiphol airport, because it was the point of departure for the doomed plane, and because 196 of the victims were Dutch.
The judges visited the reconstructed, shrapnel-pierced wreckage at a Dutch airbase for the first time in May in what they described as an “emotionally loaded” day.


‘Crisis of confidence’: Malaysia Airlines under scrutiny amid safety concerns

MH17 10 years on: Malaysian aspires to follow pilot-father’s career in tribute to crew

MH17 10 years on: Russia’s lies ‘murdered’ victims twice, Ukraine foreign minister says

‘The world has forgotten us’: MH17 disaster haunts victims’ families, 10 years on

Malaysia Airlines flight 17

Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 trial to examine evidence, entering key phase

Presiding judge Hendrik Steenhuis and other judges and lawyers view the reconstructed wreckage of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, at the Gilze-Rijen military airbase, in May. Photo: AFP

Presiding judge Hendrik Steenhuis looks on as he attends the MH17 trial of three Russians and a Ukrainian as it enters a critical next stage, in the Schiphol Judicial Complex, Badhoevedorp, Netherlands, June 7, 2021. REUTERS/Piroschka van de Wouw

As Malaysia Airlines MH17 trial begins in The Hague, court examines ‘atrocious disaster’

A pro-Russian rebel touches the MH17 wreckage at the crash site near the village of Hrabove, eastern Ukraine, in July 2014. Photo: AP

Lawyer Jerry Skinner of the U.S. leaves the court building, rear, after the first day of the trial of four men charged with murder over the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight 17, at Schiphol airport, near Amsterdam, Netherlands, Monday, March 9, 2020. A missile fired from territory controlled by pro-Russian rebels in Ukraine in 2014, tore the MH17 passenger jet apart killing all 298 people on board. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

The trial of four men charged with murder over the downing of MH17 begins at Schiphol, near Amsterdam, on Monday. Photo: AP

Australia’s foreign minister ‘sickened’ by video of Ukraine rebels at MH17 crash site

A pro-Russian Ukrainian rebel goes through luggage at the crash site of MH17 in this image from video obtained by Sydney's Daily Telegraph. Photo: News Corp

Families of downed flight MH17 hope truth emerges from unprecedented trial

A Malaysia Airlines crew member places a flower next to candles forming MH17 after a multi-faith prayers for the victims. Photo: AP Photo

FILE - This Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2015 file photo, shows the reconstructed wreckage of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17, put on display during a press conference in Gilze-Rijen, central Netherlands. United by grief across oceans and continents, families who lost loved ones when Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was shot down in 2014 hope that a trial starting next week will finally deliver them something that has remained elusive ever since: The truth. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong, File)

FILE - In this July 22, 2014 file photo, a pro-Russian rebel touches the MH17 wreckage at the crash site of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, near the village of Hrabove, eastern Ukraine. United by grief across oceans and continents, families who lost loved ones when Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was shot down in 2014 hope that a trial starting next week will finally deliver them something that has remained elusive ever since: The truth. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda, File)

Flight MH17 investigation shows ‘no proof’ that Russia was behind attack, says Russian President Vladimir Putin

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during an annual nationwide televised phone-in show in Moscow. Photo: Reuters

Fragment from MH17 crash site supports missile theory, says Dutch broadcaster

Members of the media film wreckage from the Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 laid out in a hangar at Gilze-Rijen airbase, in the southern Netherlands. Photo: AFP

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The Malaysian plane was shot down over Ukraine in 2014, killing all 298 passengers on board, many of whom were Dutch
The trial formally began in March 2020 but has until now dealt with legal arguments



The trial formally began in March 2020 but has until now dealt with legal arguments.


Malaysia

The Netherlands

Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 trial to examine evidence, entering key phase

The Malaysian plane was shot down over Ukraine in 2014, killing all 298 passengers on board, many of whom were Dutch The trial formally began in March 2020 but has until now dealt with legal arguments

The Malaysian plane was shot down over Ukraine in 2014, killing all 298 passengers on board, many of whom were Dutch

The trial formally began in March 2020 but has until now dealt with legal arguments