MH17 trial: prosecutors reveal satellite data, video

Today, Dutch prosecutors explain their position and continue the discussion of the investigation started yesterday, showing charts, photos, and videos in the courtroom. The first to speak was Dutch Prosecutor Thijs Berger.

"The next block of court hearings in the MH17 trial has been resumed, and we continue to discuss and study the radar data," he said.

First, the types of radars were touched upon. Then the prosecutor noted that no fighter planes during the MH17 crash were observed on the data transferred by the Russian Federation.

"No missiles were detected in this case as well," he said.

Prosecutors then proceeded to discuss satellite data. In particular, the satellite images showing the transportation of a Buk missile were revealed.

"There are also satellites that can detect a missile fired from the ground. Americans have these types of satellites. After the MH17 crash on July 17, 2014, they announced that, according to their information, the plane was shot down by a missile," the Dutch prosecutor emphasized.

In addition, a video fragment of Russia’s LifeNews news release of July 17, 2014 which covered shooting down a plane was shown. A TV presenter says that allegedly AN26 plane was shot down by a missile, but in fact it was the MH17 flight. The excerpts of a video with comments by Pavel Gubarev and Igor Girkin denying the existence of the Buk missile system were also shown.

The prosecutors stressed that all possible versions of MH17 crash had been analyzed and interviews with witnesses had been conducted. In particular, they mentioned Carlos, who allegedly had been an air traffic controller in Ukraine and allegedly had seen Ukrainian fighters next to a downed Boeing. In fact, the man turned out to be a Spanish swindler who later admitted that he received money from Russia for playing his role.

As reported, due to the spread of coronavirus, the number of people who can be in courtroom is limited.

The court hearing can be followed live.

The hearings are scheduled from Monday, June 8, till Friday, July 3, 2020, but it is so far unknown whether the hearings will take place on a daily basis. Hearings may be postponed or canceled due to coronavirus.

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.

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.”

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