MH17 verdict all defendants convicted in flight downing - The Washington Post

The defendants did not be the proceedings and are not successful custody. Those convicted are Igor Girkin, a erstwhile colonel of the FSB, Russia’s information service, who aboriginal served arsenic defence curate of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic; Sergey Dubinsky, a erstwhile serviceman of the GRU, Russia’s subject quality agency; and Leonid Kharchenko, a Ukrainian commandant of separatist forces successful Donbas.

They were sentenced to beingness successful prison, though they whitethorn ne'er beryllium captured.

The 4th defendant, Oleg Pulatov, who served successful a peculiar portion of the GRU, was acquitted for deficiency of evidence. Pulatov was the lone suspect who sent lawyers to support him during the trial, and helium had antecedently asked the tribunal for acquittal, saying helium played nary portion successful the incident.

The verdict followed a years-long probe into who fired a Buk surface-to-air rocket that deed the Boeing 777 flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur connected July 17, 2014, leaving bodies and wreckage scattered crossed fields successful eastbound Ukraine.

The incidental occurred during warring betwixt Russian-backed separatists and Ukrainian forces successful an country wherever respective Ukrainian subject jets were changeable down successful the weeks preceding the demolition of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17.

Russia has agelong maintained that it was not a enactment to the struggle that unfolded successful Donbas successful 2014 and that it did not power pro-Russian fighters successful Donetsk, wherever the 4 defendants held elder positions arsenic portion of the separatist militias.

The court, however, determined that Moscow financed and equipped the separatist forces successful Donetsk and mostly controlled the breakaway portion and its authorities.

The tribunal besides recovered that the Buk motorboat was intentional but the defendants astir apt thought they were firing astatine a subject aircraft.

“The verdict cannot bring backmost those who died,” presiding Judge Hendrik Steenhuis said. “But clarity has been provided connected who is to blame.”

After the verdict was announced, victims’ household members cried and hugged each other.

“This is simply a bully and balanced verdict, successful which 3 radical got the highest imaginable punishment and the relation of Russia successful this was confirmed,” said Piet Ploeg, who mislaid his brother, sister-in-law and nephew. “I consciousness alleviation arsenic justness has been served.”

“We were applauding, we were blessed that finally, aft 8 years, we could perceive the truth,” said Thomas Schansman, whose 19-year-old lad Quinn was connected the plane. “There are galore much radical who could beryllium down bars for this but what I privation present is for Putin and the Russian authorities to admit their responsibility.”

The Kremlin not lone denied engagement but sought to smear the probe arsenic politically biased. It promoted assorted explanations for however the level was changeable down, from blaming the Ukrainian authorities to dismissing grounds successful the lawsuit arsenic fabricated.

In Russia’s archetypal authoritative remark connected the verdict, the Foreign Ministry dismissed the determination arsenic a “political order.”

Dutch investigators went to large lengths to debunk Moscow’s claims, publishing a elaborate timeline of the onslaught and laying retired the role the defendants played successful delivering the rocket strategy to the motorboat determination successful Pervomaiskyi and the consequent downing of the plane.

Many household members of the Flight 17 victims person suggested that Russia’s full-scale penetration of Ukraine this twelvemonth mightiness person been averted had the planetary assemblage pushed backmost harder against Moscow successful the years aft the level was changeable down.

“Despite grounds to the contrary, the West was blessed to judge the thought that separatist groups successful Ukraine weren’t conscionable proxies for the Russian Federation, truthful they could crook a unsighted oculus to Russian aggression,” said Eliot Higgins, the laminitis of Bellingcat, which linked the Buk rocket strategy to Russia’s 53rd Antiaircraft Missile Brigade and shared its findings with the Dutch investigators.

Higgins added: “Had the West stood up to Russian aggression successful 2014, we whitethorn person avoided the concern we’re successful today.”

Two days earlier the verdict, a rocket landed successful a Polish village, adjacent the Ukrainian border, sidesplitting 2 men. Warsaw said it was apt a stray Ukrainian aerial defence missile, but the incidental was yet different illustration of Russia’s aggression having deadly consequences for guiltless bystanders.

Girkin, who served arsenic a commandant of Kremlin-backed separatist forces successful Donetsk, erstwhile boasted that helium had “pulled the trigger of war” successful Ukraine. For years helium lived safely successful Russia, but helium precocious dropped retired of show successful Moscow and reportedly returned past period to the beforehand enactment successful Ukraine.

Girkin is believed to beryllium the astir elder subject serviceman who was successful nonstop interaction with Moscow astatine the clip the level was changeable down, and helium allegedly helped transport the Buk rocket system. He has antecedently said helium felt “a motivation responsibility” for the wide decease of passengers but denied playing a nonstop role.

In mid-October, Girkin wrote connected his fashionable Telegram blog that helium had joined the “active army” erstwhile again. Girkin often uses the blog arsenic a level to fiercely knock Russia’s subject strategy successful Ukraine. His wife, Myroslava Reginska, shared a photograph of Girkin, who besides goes by the nom de guerre Igor Strelkov, wearing a subject uniform.

Following reports that Girkin had returned to the front, Ukrainians launched a crowdfunding run to cod a $100,000 bounty for his capture.