The Dutch Public Prosecution Service has strong indications that Russia is obstructing the investigation into the downing of flight MH17. Witnesses feel threatened and fear for their lives. Russian intelligence agents are also suspected of attempting a computer hack.
This was stated by the prosecutor on the second day of the trial that began in the heavily secured court at Schiphol, according to the Belgian newspaper De Tijd. ‘The facts cast a dark shadow over this investigation. There is strong evidence that Russia is determined to sabotage it.’
The fate of the anonymous witnesses, who have given incriminating statements against Russia, is causing particular concern. The prosecutor called it ‘a realistic scenario’ that the Russian intelligence services are trying to uncover their identities, putting their lives at risk. He pointed out that the Russian intelligence services were previously involved in several murders on European soil.
In the first trial concerning the events of July 2014, four suspects – three Russians and one Ukrainian – stand trial for their involvement in transporting and setting up the Buk missile system that shot down the Malaysian Airlines Boeing 777 over Eastern Ukraine. All 298 people on board died. Most of them were Dutch.
The four suspects – Igor Girkin, Sergei Dubinsky, Oleg Pulatov, and Leonid Kharchenko – face life sentences for murder and destroying an aircraft, but are not themselves accused of firing the missile. That was likely done by unknown Russian military personnel. None of the four suspects is present at the trial. They are probably residing in Russia, but Russia has no intention of handing them over.
The trial in the Netherlands came after an attempt to establish a UN tribunal was blocked by a Russian veto in the Security Council. Russia did, however, agree in the Security Council to the establishment of an international investigation. At the proposal of the Netherlands, a Joint Investigation Team (JIT) was formed from the five most involved countries: the Netherlands, Belgium, Malaysia, Australia, and Ukraine.
To Moscow’s great anger, Russia was not given a seat on the JIT team, which effectively placed the Russians in the dock from the outset, according to Dutch Prime Minister Rutte. Russia has since rejected all investigations and findings from the JIT investigation.
At the center of the trial against the four suspects is now a dossier of 36,000 pages compiled by the Joint Investigation Team. Their conclusion is that MH17 was shot down from a Buk missile launcher that was transported from Russia into Eastern Ukraine.
Since the incident, Russia has spread various denials and alternative versions of the facts. For a long time, they claimed the aircraft had been shot down by a Ukrainian fighter jet, even fabricating false satellite images. Later, they stated that the Ukrainians were responsible for downing the plane.