4 hours agoKosovo government seeks sentence of aircraft crash suspects in 2014 by Russians in Ukraine
Periskopi(7 years ago)
(7 years ago)The Kosovo government has made a statement after Dutch Chief Prosecutor Fred Westerbeck announced the charges against the four suspects who will be charged with murder for their role in the fall of Malaysia Airlines's plane in 2014 in Ukraine, when 298 passengers died. The government of the Republic of Kosovo supports the team's announcement [...]
The government of the Republic of Kosovo supports the announcement of the Joint Investigations Team for Landing MH17, which emphasises that four suspects will be prosecuted for crimes in connection with the collapse of Malaysian Airlines flight, dated July 17th 2014”, said in the statement submitted to the media.
Kosovo's executive suggests that in this way the joint states of the European Union and its allies “expressed full support for efforts to uncover the truth and ensure that justice for the loss of the lives of 298 persons from 17 different states and that those responsible for this tragic event must account for”
Dutch Chief Prosecutor Fred Westerbeke Westernbeke said at a conference on June 19th that Russians Sergei Dubinsky, Igor Girkin and Oleg Pulatov, along with Ukrainian Leonid Kharchenko, will be tried in the Netherlands for their crimes.
International arrest warrants have been issued against them.
Russia denied involvement in this case. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov refused to accept the prosecutors' findings. He said Russia was not given “opportunity to participate” in the investigation.
But, chief prosecutor, Westernbequet blamed Russia for the” involvement in one way or another in this” crime.
Who are the accused?
Igor Girkin (also known as Stralkov) is a former colonel of Russia's intelligence service, prosecutors say. He was given the post of defence minister in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donetsk, controlled by pro-rus separatists.
Sergei Dubinskiy (known as Khmuriy), who was employed by the military intelligence agency, was deputy to Girkin.
Oleg Pulatov, known as Giurza, is a former soldier of Russia's military intelligence special forces and was deputy head of the Donnetsk intelligence service.
Ukraine's Leonid Kharchenko does not have a military background, but has led the combat unit as commander in eastern Ukraine, prosecutors said.
What is known about the incident?
Malaysia Airlines was flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur when it crashed, killing 298 people on board.
The Boeing 777-type plane crashed in eastern Ukraine on July 17th 2014, at the height of the conflict between Ukrainian government troops and pro-Russian separatists.
Russia has said the missile that hit the plane has been fired from Ukraine-controlled territory.
Investigators, who seek to judge suspects under Dutch law, have earlier said they own a list of persons and call on witnesses to help investigate the event.
Last week, investigators reportedly possess new details from the investigation, prompting Dutch media to report that, according to this data, suspects for the attack will be appointed.
Regarding the publication of the charges, Hans De Borst é, whose 17-year-old daughter was aboard the plane, told the BBC that this is only the first step to achieve justice.
The MH17 flight was launched by Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport on July 17, 2014. After flying over Germany and Poland, the plane, as planned, has passed south of Ukraine's airspace.
About four hours after takeoff, the plane lost contact with air traffic control about 50 km from the Russia-Ukraine border.
The plane crashed in the Donnetsk area, on separatist-controlled territory. The remains were found scattered over some 50 square miles [50 sq km].
In October 2015, the Dutch Safety Board said that the plane was hit by a Russian Buk missile, causing the butterfly to break up in the air.
Video from archive: Investigators blame Russian Unit for MH17 crash
In 2016 the Joint Detective Team, which includes officials from the Netherlands, Australia, Belgium, Malaysia, and Ukraine, came to a similar conclusion.
This team has said the Buk rocket has been brought to Ukraine from Russia shortly before the plane crashed. The Joint Detective Team has also said the missile was thrown out of a region controlled by pro-Russian separatists.
Russian authorities had earlier claimed that the <x0 concern that crashed the Malaysian Airlines aircraft was sent to Soviet Ukraine after it was produced in 1986 and has never returned to Russia”.
