Sixth court hearing in MH17 case begins in Netherlands

Judges, prosecutors, lawyers, relatives of the victims and journalists are present in the courtroom.

Everyone observes social distancing rules due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Prosecutors took the floor in court. They are presenting their position and telling about the details of the investigation.

Earlier reports said that due to the spread of the coronavirus, the number of people who can be in the courtroom is limited. Everyone can watch the trial online. The broadcast is available in two languages: Dutch and English.

The hearings are scheduled from June 8 to July 3, but it is not clear whether the trial will take place every day. It is not ruled out that the hearings could be postponed or canceled.

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.

Lawyers Sabine Ten Doesschate and Boudewijn van Eijck from the Sjöcrona Van Stigt law firm represent the interests of suspect Oleg Pulatov, lieutenant colonel of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, who expressed a desire to participate in the trial.

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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