A court in the Netherlands has found 3 defendants guilty in the case of shooting down a Boeing in Donbass. This could be an example for the Tribunal for Ukraine.
On the day of the announcement of the verdict in the downed Boeing MH17 case, Russian missiles fell again in Ukraine. On July 17, 2014, a Russian Buk SAM missile intercepted the flight of Malaysian airliner MH17 from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur in eastern Ukraine, killing 298 people on board, shocking the world. Before this, many did not notice Russia’s war against Ukraine, which began with the annexation of Crimea. Then they talked about pro-Russian separatists, and Moscow lied about its non-intervention.
A mistake that does not lessen the guilt
Exactly eight years and four months later, it’s over. The judges of the Hague District Court on Thursday, November 17, declared with restraint that Russia exercised “overall control” over the so-called “Donetsk People’s Republic”, including through its citizens over the head of the entity this, related to the Kremlin. The court has now found two of them guilty in absentia and sentenced them to life imprisonment.
One was named Igor Girkin, a former Russian intelligence officer who called himself “defense minister” in the self-proclaimed “DPR”. The second – Sergei Dubinsky – is his deputy and previously served in the Russian army. A Ukrainian, Leonid Kharchenko, who helped them, was also convicted. The three, according to the court, played an important role in the fact that the Buk air defense system was brought from Russia to Ukraine and used against a passenger aircraft, which was mistaken for a Ukrainian military vehicle. This was a mistake, which, however, does not reduce the guilt. The fourth defendant, a Russian Oleg Pulatov was acquitted. The court deemed that there was insufficient evidence of his guilt.
Experience for the future tribunal for Ukraine
In fact, the process does not end with judgment. Others may follow, as the court failed to establish “who gave the order and why,” as the presiding judge put it. The political and military leadership of Russia, which is clearly also responsible, is not among the defendants in this trial.
But this will change, ultimately, the future international war crimes tribunal of the Russian Federation in Ukraine. The Dutch Parliament voted in October to create such a tribunal. This tribunal will examine the events since the annexation of Crimea. He will need valuable experience in the MH17 case.
A very thorough investigation into the Boeing crash has been going on for years. The international team studied thousands of hours of phone conversations, data from mobile operators and weather indicators, interviewed witnesses and conducted complex experiments. There has never been such a remarkable process in the history of civil aviation.
The main result of this is that a lie comes to light, there is justice, even if it takes many years to wait. The verdict is an example and hint of what awaits Russian President Vladimir Putin and his military leadership during the tribunal for Ukraine – life imprisonment. And perhaps at that time those found guilty will be arrested and imprisoned.
Source: korrespondent
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.