Russia not to extradite its citizens convicted in MH17 downing case - lawyer of victims’ families

Peter Langstraat, one of the lawyers of the MH17 victims’ families, said this in an exclusive comment to an Ukrinform correspondent in The Hague.

"RF cannot extradite their own citizens, so it needs a change of laws but to do that probably a change of regime first," he said.

As reported by Ukrinform, Australia demands that those convicted in the MH17 case be extradited to serve their life prison terms.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said that Russia should recognize own responsibility.

Ex-FSB officer, former "Minister of Defense of the DNR" Ihor Girkin (Strelkov), General of the GRU of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, head of the "GRU of the DNR" Serhii Dubinsky and citizen of Ukraine Leonid Kharchenko found guilty in the case of the downing of flight MH17 must pay 16 million euros in compensation.

Such a decision was made by a court in the Netherlands.

Girkin, Dubinsky and Kharchenko were found guilty of shooting down flight MH17 and killing 298 people, they were sentenced to life imprisonment. GRU lieutenant colonel Oleg Pulatov was acquitted.

As reported on Thursday, November 17, the district court of The Hague found guilty of shooting down the passenger plane flight MH17 and killing all 298 people on board former FSB operative, former "Minister of Defense of the DPR" Igor Girkin (aka Strelkov), General, at the time of the downing Colonel of the GRU of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, head of the "GRU of the DPR" Sergei Dubinsky, and a citizen of Ukraine Leonid Kharchenko, who fought on the side of the "DPR.”

Russian national, Lieutenant Colonel of the GRU, Oleg Pulatov, has been acquitted.

The court sentenced Kharchenko, Dubinsky, and Girkin to life imprisonment and ordered that they be detained. The court recognizes Pulatov as innocent," said presiding judge Hendrik Steenhuis.