MH17: Three guilty as court finds Russia-controlled group downed airliner

A Dutch tribunal has recovered 3 men blameworthy of execution for shooting down a rider pitchy implicit eastbound Ukraine successful 2014, sidesplitting 298 people.

The tribunal recovered that a Russian-made rocket supplied from Russia and fired by an equipped radical nether Russian power brought down formation MH17.

The men - 2 Russians and 1 Ukrainian - were recovered blameworthy successful absentia. A 3rd Russian was acquitted.

The rocket onslaught was 1 of the astir notorious warfare crimes successful Ukraine earlier allegations of atrocities determination became an astir regular reality.

Many of the victims' relatives judge if the satellite had reacted differently, and taken a tougher stance against Russia 8 years ago, the penetration of Ukraine and the geopolitical instability that has followed could person been avoided.

The judges ruled that it was a deliberate enactment to bring down a plane, adjacent though the 3 recovered blameworthy had intended to sprout down a subject not a civilian aircraft.

Oleg Pulatov was the lone 1 of the 4 accused to person ineligible practice astatine the trial. The judges recovered helium knew astir the rocket but was not a perpetrator.

On 17 July 2014, 298 people, including 80 children and 15 crew, boarded Malaysia Airlines formation 17 to Kuala Lumpur astatine Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport.

The level was cruising astatine 33,000 feet implicit Ukraine. It was the aboriginal days of Russia's efforts to power parts of the country.

At the clip this was a comparatively low-level struggle zone, but warring had precocious expanded into the air. In the preceding months a fig of subject planes had been changeable down.

In response, Ukraine closed the airspace astatine little altitudes - up to 32,000 feet. But planes were inactive crossing the country.

The Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 was flying 1,000 feet supra this restricted airspace.

At 13:20 GMT, it mislaid interaction with aerial postulation control.

Most radical connected committee came from the Netherlands, followed by Malaysia and Australia. They had packed for imagination holidays, an Aids conference, household reunions and more. In a flash, each plans for the aboriginal were obliterated.

"I inactive miss them," says Silene Fredriksz, her walls adorned with snapshots of lad Bryce and his woman Daisy. The young lovers were heading to Bali, a dainty aft a hard year.

Forward to 2022 and Moscow's penetration of Ukraine successful February opened up hardly healed wounds.

"It was heartbreaking for us," Silene says. She is convinced the existent struggle could person been avoided had the satellite taken a harder enactment successful 2014.

"Putin has ne'er been stopped, and inactive has not been stopped. And helium volition not halt until helium is stopped," Silene said. I anticipation the satellite wakes up now, due to the fact that we knew it already 8 years ago."

Russia has ever denied immoderate engagement and alternatively pumped retired a scope of alternate theories - suggesting a Ukrainian combatant pitchy fired the missile, oregon that Ukrainian authorities forces were responsible, and successful immoderate cases fabricated grounds to enactment their claims.

The squad recovered the disintegration of the level successful mid-air was caused by the detonation of a Russian-made 9N314M-type warhead carried connected the 9M38M1 missile, launched from the eastbound portion of Ukraine utilizing a Buk rocket system.

Eliot Higgins, laminitis of the investigative level Bellingcat, delved into the unfastened root evidence. His squad identified links with Russia's 53rd Anti Aircraft Missile Brigade, and trawled done 200 soldiers' societal media posts to corroborate the individuality and relation of galore members of the portion based astatine a Russian subject barracks successful Kursk. Bellingcat shared their findings with Dutch prosecutors. He believes the proceedings has laid bare indisputable impervious of Russia's involvement.

"I deliberation astatine this point, and particularly with a blameworthy verdict," Eliot told us, "anyone who would assertion that Russia wasn't progressive with this sprout down is truly a ridiculous person".

Based connected his findings, Eliot Higgins believes the events of 2014 and 2022 are inextricably linked.

"People were conscionable turning a unsighted oculus to it, policymakers conscionable weren't comfy with calling retired Russia successful a mode they truly should person done. And they didn't respond successful the mode that could person prevented the penetration successful 2022. I deliberation determination should person been much subject enactment for Ukraine, determination should person been much sanctions, determination should person been a stronger effect than we saw astatine the time. There could person been preventative measures that would person saved a batch of lives."

The proceedings has been an accidental to chopped done Russian disinformation. The judges rejected an alternate mentation of events promoted by Buk rocket shaper Almaz-Antey arsenic falsified and not independently assessed.

"There was the catastrophe itself. But the adjacent disaster, I would say, was that Russia ne'er cooperated. And that gave other symptom for each of us. And wherefore was that necessary? Just accidental sorry," Hans de Borst tells us, arsenic helium shows america vacation photos of his 17-year-old girl Elsemiek.

He holds choky to the memories, arsenic good arsenic Elsemiek's passport and boarding pass, recovered intact from the wreckage.

Families astatine the epicentre of the MH17 catastrophe invested their religion successful the probe led by the Netherlands.

"It is highly important to me," helium says stoically, "because it's that feeling of justness needing to beryllium done successful a satellite that kills radical who conscionable spell connected holiday. If justness is not being done past your full feeling of a bully satellite doesn't beryllium anymore. So getting justness brought to you by truthful galore radical gives a bully feeling and I hope, volition springiness immoderate bid astir this subject."

Piecing unneurotic clues including intercepted telephone calls, eyewitness accounts and adjacent metallic fragments recovered successful the bodies of the crew, investigators were capable to found the benignant of weapon, way its way - from a subject barracks successful Russia, crossed the borderline to the motorboat tract successful pro-Russian separatist controlled eastbound Ukraine - and place cardinal suspects.

They are 3 Russians and 1 Ukrainian. The astir salient of them is Igor Girkin, who prosecutors accidental is simply a erstwhile colonel successful Russia's quality work the FSB.

The Kremlin has dismissed the ineligible proceedings and each suspects refused to look successful court. Only one, Oleg Pulatov, employed a squad of Dutch lawyers to support him successful court.

The judgement is improbable to effect successful anyone serving clip successful jailhouse for this wide murder, but the probe has created an incontestable humanities grounds and delivered the families immoderate bid of mind.

"We volition ne'er get our children back," Silene Fredriksz accepts, "but… we request the truth. And we request justice. This is simply a tiny portion of our justice."

MH17: The Search for Truth

Hear much from the families' connected their quest for justice.

Available connected iPlayer from 8pm GMT (UK only).