MH17 trial: Dutch prosecutors disagree with demands of Pulatov's lawyers

As an Ukrinform correspondent in The Hague reports, Dutch prosecutors consider inappropriate the statements of Pulatov’s lawyers, who insist that the investigation is not completed, in particular regarding the “military aircraft scenario.”

Dutch prosecutor Ward Ferdinandusse was the first to speak. "Such a motion can be granted only if such a scenario is plausible. The information on the study of such a version is already in the case files," he said.

All the evidence indicates that MH17 was destroyed by a Buk missile, he stressed.

“There is evidence that such a scenario [military aircraft scenario] is not possible. In particular, damage to the aircraft, fragments found in the bodies of the dead, radar data, witness statements, photos and videos indicate that MH17 was destroyed by Buk missile system,” he said.

According to him, the defense must first prove that the main version has dubious evidence, which has not been done.

After the break, Dutch prosecutor Thijs Berger took the floor, emphasizing that there was a lot of evidence pointing to the use of the Buk missile and nothing that would confirm the launch of an air-to-air missile.

On June 8, 2020, the second block of court hearings in the MH17 trial began. Prosecutors revealed details of the investigation in the courtroom.

The number of people present in the courtroom is limited due to the coronavirus quarantine restrictions. All court proceedings of the MH17 trial are live streamed.

 In March this year, the District Court of The Hague began the consideration of the case of the downing of flight MH17 in the sky over Donbas.

On June 19, 2019, the international Joint Investigation Team named four suspects believed to be involved in the transportation and combat use of the Buk missile system, from which MH17 flight had been downed. Three of them are Russians: Igor Girkin (Strelkov), former colonel in Russia's FSB intelligence service and former so-called defense minister of the so-called "Donetsk People's Republic"; Sergey Dubinskiy, general (at the time of downing – colonel) of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces and head of the so-called "Main Intelligence Directorate of the Donetsk People’s Republic"; Oleg Pulatov, lieutenant colonel of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces. The fourth suspect is Leonid Kharchenko, a Ukrainian civilian, who fought on the side of the so-called "Donetsk People's Republic."

Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, was shot down over conflict-hit Donbas in July 2014. There were 283 passengers and 15 crew members on board. All of them died. The JIT reported that the plane had been shot down from a Buk missile system that belongs to the 53rd Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade of the Russian Armed Forces stationed in Kursk.

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