Two Russians and a Ukrainian charged for causing the deadliest aircraft crash by weapons that killed 283 passengers and 15 crew members in 2014
The Hague District Court in the Netherlands issued life sentences for three people accused in the Malaysia Airlines Boing 777 crash. According to a report in Euronews on Thursday, November 17, Russians Igor Girkin, Sergey Dubinskiy and Ukrainian Leonid Kharchenko have been found guilty of being responsible for the disaster. The verdict was given more than eight years after the flight travelling from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur was attacked by a missile that blew it out of the sky, the report said.
According to the report, the Dutch court states that the plane after being struck by the missile broke up in midair. This caused the wreckage along with the bodies to scatter over farms in the Ukrainian region of Donetsk. The court also said that the missile used was supplied by Russia.
The report adds, the missile launcher used during the attack came from the 53rd Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade of the Russian armed forces. According to the court, the three accused had worked together to bring the missile system into Ukraine from Russia. They were also involved in putting the missile systems into position before attacking the plane, the court adds.
The verdict was given by the Presiding Judge Hendrik Steenhuis, who declared that the three accused must also pay compensation of €60 million to the victim’s relatives. The accused have so far refused to attend the trial and are unlikely to ever serve their sentences.
The MH17 plane crash resulted in the killing of all 283 passengers and 15 crew members. It is considered the worst aeroplane crash caused by weaponry in history, the report adds.
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