Politics
12:13, 06-Jul-2017
Any suspects in flight MH17 shootdown will be tried in the Netherlands
[]
Share
Copied
The Dutch government announced Wednesday that any suspects believed to be linked with the shooting down of Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 in July 2014 over Ukraine will be tried in the Netherlands.
Three years after the tragedy, no suspects have been named, let alone taken into custody.
The Joint Investigation Team (JIT) in charge of the case, consisting of prosecutors from Belgium, the Netherlands, Ukraine, Malaysia and Australia, made the decision, which was announced by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
They will continue to work together in the lawsuit proceeding.
Wreckage of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 near the village of Rassipnoe, Ukraine on October 15, 2014. /VCG Photo
Wreckage of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 near the village of Rassipnoe, Ukraine on October 15, 2014. /VCG Photo
Fight MH17 crashed in eastern Ukraine on July 17, 2014, while en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur. All 298 people on board died, of whom 196 were Dutch nationals.
A piece of wreckage of the Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 pictured in Shaktarsk, on July 18, 2014. /VCG Photo
A piece of wreckage of the Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 pictured in Shaktarsk, on July 18, 2014. /VCG Photo
A report published by the JIT in September 2016 indicated that the aircraft was shot down by a Russian-made Buk missile fired from eastern Ukraine, an area controlled by independence-seeking insurgents.
Russia and the rebel leadership in east Ukraine have rejected the allegations, saying that the plane was downed by a missile from the territory controlled by Ukrainian government.
7820km