MH17 from AMS to KUL down in Ukraine

[Marcelb]

This post explains the situation of the Prime Minister. He stated 9/11 was done by US government, the Boeing 777 on flight MH370 could remotely be controlled by the CIA. He is close to president Putin, wanted president Bush for a tribunal for this war in Iraq. So not a friend of Western states.
http://www.whathappenedtoflightmh17.com ... down-mh17/

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..and the latest...

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/ ... ine-Russia

Wed 19 Jun 2019 12.26 BST

Four suspects will face murder charges for the shooting down of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17,
three of them Russians, international investigators said on Wednesday,
with a trial due to start next March in the Netherlands.

Almost five years after the plane was downed over eastern Ukraine, killing all 298 people on board,
prosecutors said there was enough evidence to bring criminal charges.

The suspects were named as
Igor Girkin, a former colonel of Russia’s FSB spy service;
Sergey Dubinskiy, employed by Russia’s GRU military intelligence agency; and
Oleg Pulatov, a former soldier with the GRU’s special forces spetsnaz unit.

All were Russian soldiers previously sent abroad.


A fourth suspect, Leonid Kharchenko, is a Ukrainian.
He led a military combat unit in the city of Donetsk as a commander, it was alleged.

Girkin was minister of defence in the Moscow-backed Donetsk People’s Republic (DNR).
He was the commander of the DNR when the plane was shot down on 17 July 2014.
Dubinskiy served as Girkin’s deputy in the DNR,
and Pulatov was Dubinskiy’s deputy.
Kharchenko was under their command.

Investigators said the soldiers “formed a chain linking DNR with the Russian Federation”.
This link was how the separatists obtained heavy equipment from Russia
including the Buk launcher used to fire at MH17 with “terrible consequences”.

The accused did not push the button themselves but
were responsible for bringing the anti-aircraft system to eastern Ukraine.

They could therefore be held criminally liable and charged with murdering 298 people, investigators said.

International arrest warrants have now been been sent out,
with the individuals placed on lists internationally, the chief Dutch prosecutor, Fred Westerbeke, said.

All four had been involved in bringing the Buk missile system which shot down the plane from Russia to Ukraine.


He said the investigation had found and interrogated witnesses, analysed satellite images, and sifted through phone calls and other data.
The area of investigation in eastern Ukraine was still inaccessible to the team,
Westerbeke said, making the process difficult.

More than 50 detectives had been involved and several significant new witnesses had come forward, Westerbeke said.

At least three of the suspects identified by Bellingcat appear to be dead .
They include Eduard Gilazov, missing since July 2015,
Oleg Sharpov, who died in November 2014 and
Sergey Povalyaev, who died in Russia in January 2016.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/ ... ine-Russia

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https://www.telegraaf.nl/nieuws/1197147 ... aat-praten

Of de aanhouding van de 58-jarige militair Vladimir Tsemach door Oekraïne
veel duidelijkheid gaat brengen in de zaak rond het neerschieten van vlucht MH17,
is nog zeer de vraag.

Tsemach zou destijds commandant zijn geweest van de luchtverdediging in de stad Snizjne,
dicht bij de plek waar de Buk-raket die vlucht MH17 trof werd afgeschoten.
Hij zou misschien kunnen vertellen wie het commando voerde over de raketinstallatie.

Overlevering aan Nederland is hoe dan ook geen optie, zegt Knoops.
Oekraïne levert geen onderdanen uit.
Dat het land deel uitmaakt van het Joint Investigation Team dat het neerschieten van het vliegtuig onderzoekt, maakt niet uit, zegt Knoops.

...and earlier:
https://www.dutchnews.nl/news/2019/07/a ... n-ukraine/

Arrest of ‘possible MH17 witness’ in Ukraine

July 5, 2019

One man who may have witnessed the shooting down of the MH17
has reportedly been arrested by the Ukrainian secret service.

Citing a report on the Russian-language BBC service,
the Volkskrant claims that 58-year-old Vladimir Tsemach has been arrested in rebel territory.

The man is thought to have been a former military commandant of pro-Russian separatists and
was reportedly captured near the place from which the aeroplane was shot down.

https://nltimes.nl/2019/07/05/ukraine-r ... 17-witness

on July 5, 2019 - 13:40

A Ukrainian special operations unit arrested a former military commander of the pro-Russian separatists last week.

The man, 58-year-old Vladimir Tsemach,
served as commander of air defense in the city of Snizhne,
near the site from where the missile was fired that shot down Malaysia airlines flight MH17 in 2014,
the Volkskrant reports based on information from sources.

Tsemach was arrested in his apartment on June 27th, during an operation deep in rebel territory.

The unit then smuggled him through the separatists' checkpoints -
reportedly by pretending he was paralyzed -
and into the Ukrainian side of the front line, according to the newspaper.

The man is being charged with "forming a terrorist group or terrorist organization".

But the Ukrainian authorities are likely interested in him
because he may know more about who was responsible for downing flight MH17, the newspaper writes.

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/poli ... -shootdown

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/0 ... nked-mh17/

5 July 2019 • 4:36pm

Vladimir Tsemakh, who turned 58 in confinement in Kiev on Thursday,
was captured by Ukrainian agents in the Russia-backed splinter state of the Donetsk People's Republic on June 27,
relatives told the BBC Russian service.

Ukrainian media have reported that Mr Tsemakh could be a “valuable witness” in the international investigation of the tragedy,
while the authorities have declined to comment on the incident.
Mr Tsemakh's relatives have claimed that Kiev plans to “frame” him for the disaster.

According to a copy of a court order posted on social media,
Mr Tsemakh is suspected of creating a terrorist group,
charges carrying up to 15 years in prison.

Relatives have claimed he only took charge of Snizhne's air defences in October 2014,
and Alexander Borodai, a Moscow PR consultant who was then head of the self-declared Donetsk republic,
said on Friday the separatists in Snizhne didn't have anti-aircraft weapons.

But Igor Strelkov, head of the separatist military in 2014 and one of the Russians charged by investigators last month,
said in a social media post that Mr Tsemakh
was the “commander of anti-aircraft defences in the city of Snizhne in July-August 2014”.

He also claimed however that these defences only comprised several automatic cannons and machine guns,
arguing that Mr Tsemakh and other separatist fighters had “nothing to do” with the downing of MH17.

Mr Tsemakh's wife told Russian state media he had been abducted by Ukraine's security service,
injected with “psychotropic medicines” and
taken across the breakaway republic's border in a wheelchair with fake documents.

A photograph of him in confinement showed him with a bloody bandage on his forehead
and what appeared to be a needle prick on his arm.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/worl ... 89941.html

On the morning of 27 June,
Vladimir Tsemakh took his wife to work,
returning home to the family apartment in Snizhne, eastern Ukraine.

What happened to the former separatist commander next is subject to conjecture.
From the evidence available,
it seems Ukrainian security service agents were waiting for him when he returned.

A battle seemingly broke out – this was evident from the blood left on the floor.
He was injected with something – this was apparent from marks on his upper limb on the photo sent later.
Then, somehow, he was whisked from deep in separatist-controlled territory
– past the crash site of Malaysian Airlines 17, past the armed checkpoints,
past the delineation line – and into Ukraine proper.

According to some accounts, Mr Tsemakh had been disguised as a paralysed man
and transported via an informal crossing point in Mariinka, near Donetsk.

Mr Tsemakh’s family only understood he was alive the next day,
when an email arrived from his newly appointed lawyer in Kiev, Roman Gontarev.

The former separatist commander was being charged with terror offences, the email read.

That, his daughter Maria tells The Independent,
was also when they understood the nature of the audacious swoop by Ukrainian secret services.

It seems probable that Mr Tsemakh, commander of local anti-aircraft corps over 2014-2017,
was targeted in connection with MH17, which crashed into a nearby field in July 2014.

“Tsemakh’s evidence in international courts can lead to the grimmest of consequences for Putin and Russia,” Yuri Butusov, an analyst considered close to the Ukrainian military, wrote on Facebook.

Maria Tsemakh says she has no doubts that her father was being “set up” by Ukraine to take the blame for the disaster.


“It’s the only rational explanation for such a bold and underhand operation,” she says.
It must be connected to MH17.”

But, she tells The Independent, it was “inconceivable” her father had anything to do with the downing of the Boeing passenger liner.

He was a “simple Afghanistan veteran” trained in Russia,
but who moved to Ukraine after retiring from service aged 35 in 1992.

The ex-soldier was, for many years, unemployed, the daughter claims,
only donning fatigues again
“when the rockets were flying and tanks had come to our homes” in 2014.

Ms Tsemakh insists her father only became commander of the anti-aircraft corps from October of that year,
several months after the Malaysian liner was downed.

The area around Snizhne witnessed some of the bloodiest fighting of 2014.
Over the summer, Ukrainian forces came very close to regaining control of nearby strategic strongholds such as Savur-Mohyla and Ilovaisk.
But with the help of Russian planning, weaponry and key personnel,
anti-Kiev forces in the area emerged victorious, with significant losses on both sides.


It is understood that Mr Tsemakh was an officer in the “Slavyansk” division based in Snizhne,
which was formed in June 2014.

The Slavyansk unit operated under the command of former Russian operative Igor “Strelkov” Girkin, who was, in June,
named as one of four suspects in the downing of MH17.

Mr Tsemakh’s name, however, has never come up before –
either on official charge sheets or even in meticulous open-source investigations
published by outlets such as Bellingcat.

A question mark also hangs over the legal process in Kiev.

Mr Tsemakh was assigned a lawyer and put in front of a judge in Kiev in super-quick time,
less than 48 hours from his kidnapping behind the frontlines.

Lawyer Roman Gontarev said legal restrictions meant that he was able to say who hired him.

The Independent has learned that Mr Gontarev was until very recently a policeman himself.

Russian parliamentarians have been quick to condemn Ukraine’s bold manoeuvre.

It was the “latest outrage” from Kiev’s secret services,
said Frants Klintsevich, an influential senator and former deputy chair of the upper house’s defence select committee.

“Now they will try to beat the necessary testimony out of Tsemakh…
but do they really think the evidence will have any weight?”

Russia – despite highly persuasive evidence to the contrary –
denies all involvement in eastern Ukraine and in the downing of MH17.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/worl ... 89941.html

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https://nltimes.nl/2019/09/02/russia-wa ... ess-report

Russia wants Ukraine to hand over MH17 key witness: report

September 2, 2019 - 16:10

Russia wants the Ukraine to give possible MH17 key witness Vladimir Tsemach to them.

Russia added the man to a list of prisoners the countries plan to exchange in the coming week,
Het Parool reports based on reports from Ukrainian parliamentarian Mustafa Najem,
editor of Ukrainian Tsenzor.net Yuri Bukusov,
and independent Russian news site The Insider.

Tsemach previously stated in an interview
that he helped hide the Russian BUK missile with which flight MH17 was shot down over eastern Ukraine on 17 July 2014.

All 298 people on board, including 196 Dutch, were killed.
It is expected that he will be called to testify in the trial against four men suspected of involvement in the downing of the plane,
which will start at the high security court at Schiphol in March next year.

Ukrainian soldiers managed to take Tsemach into custody in June 2019,
smuggling him from the self proclaimed pro-Russian Dontesk People's Republic (DNR)
and transferring him to Kiev.
Tsemach was the commander of a DNR anti-aircraft unit near Snizhne,
from where the BUK missile was fired at MH17.
He is still in Ukrainian custody.

If Russia did indeed ask that Tsemach be transferred to them, it is a strange request.

Tsemach is a Ukrainian citizen, which means Russia has no formal reason to want him.

The discussions around the prisoner exchange are taking place behind closed doors,
making it difficult to determine whether Moscow really made this request.

Ukrainian MP Najem told Het Parool that he "knows no more"
than that the request was made.
He would not give the newspaper his sources,
but said that they were reliable.

https://nltimes.nl/2019/09/02/russia-wa ... ess-report

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https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2019/11/ ... ays-a68089

Key MH17 Suspect Ready to Testify in Eastern Ukraine, Lawyer Says

Nov. 8, 2019

Key MH17 witness Vladimir Tsemakh is ready to provide testimony to Dutch and Ukrainian investigators about the plane tragedy,
but only on pro-Russian separatist territory in eastern Ukraine, his lawyer has said.

Tsemakh, who was captured by Ukrainian forces and later returned to Russia for fighting on the side of pro-Russian rebels in the Donbass,
had been filmed saying that he commanded an anti-air brigade and hid evidence of a Buk missile system.

Observers speculated that he may be a key witness in the July 2014 downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine
that killed all 298 people onboard.

Anatoly Kucherena, Tsemakh’s lawyer in his European human rights court lawsuit against Ukraine and the Netherlands,
told the state-run TASS news agency that his client is “scared” of testifying,
but is ready to do it nevertheless.

“He takes everything that has happened to him pretty hard,
but he’s still ready to give evidence to both Dutch and Ukrainian investigators to protect his good name,”
Kucherena was quoted as saying Thursday.

No one has yet approached Tsemakh to offer the “various interrogation formats,”
the lawyer who also represents American whistleblower Edward Snowden said.

“My client and I voiced our principled willingness to testify.
Everything else is subject to negotiations,”
TASS quoted Kucherena as saying.

Ukrainian security services kidnapped Tsemakh, a Ukrainian citizen, on June 27.
In September 2019, Tsemakh was sent to Russia as part of a high-profile prisoner swap between Kiev and Moscow.

In his first interview since the prisoner exchange,
Tsemakh said last week that Dutch and Australian officials had offered him
Dutch citizenship and a house in the Netherlands while he was held in Ukraine.

https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2019/11/ ... ays-a68089

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... a rare apology / een zeldzame bekentenis...

https://nos.nl/artikel/2314276-rusland- ... p-was.html

Rusland erkent dat satellietfoto van neerhalen MH17 nep was

https://www.nu.nl/vliegramp-oekraine/60 ... p-was.html

11 december 2019 14:57

De baas van de Russische staatsomroep Channel One
heeft in een interview met The New Yorker toegegeven
dat de satellietfoto die door het land werd verspreid na het neerhalen van MH17 nep was.

In English:
https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2019/12/ ... its-a68555

...original source, worth reading if you have the time to do so:
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019 ... e-director

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...Bellingcat...

https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2020/04/28/burlaka/

Key MH17 Figure Identified As Senior FSB Official: Colonel General Andrey Burlaka

April 28, 2020By Bellingcat Investigation Team

https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2020/04/28/burlaka/
is the page several newspapers are getting their information from

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https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2020/05/ ... sia-a70279
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https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/0 ... d-eastern/
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https://www.kyivpost.com/ukraine-politi ... netsk.html
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https://en.interfax.com.ua/news/general/662199.html
/
https://www.kommersant.ru/doc/4343829
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https://www.bbc.com/russian/features-52650309

A key suspect in the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17
was detained on unrelated charges in eastern Ukraine
around the time the murder trial against the MH17 suspects
started in the Netherlands this spring,
BBC Russia reported Thursday.

Former field commander Leonid Kharchenko, 47,
is the only Ukrainian passport-holder among four suspects named by the Dutch-led investigation into the tragedy
that killed all 298 people on board flight MH17 in July 2014.

The other three are Russian nationals who, like Kharchenko,
are expected to be tried in absentia.

Pro-Russian authorities in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic arrested Kharchenko near his home on March 11,
BBC Russia cited an unnamed former commander who had served with Kharchenko as saying.

He was reportedly charged with illegal possession of firearms and an illegal search.

Former fellow soldiers say they believe that the pro-Russian authorities
pressed what they call “ridiculous” charges against Kharchenko
in order to shield him from a kidnapping attempt by Ukraine.

Ukrainian authorities, who are engaged in a six-year war with Russian-backed separatists in the country's east,
charged Kharchenko in 2015 with creating a terrorist group.

Ukrainian security services kidnapped a key MH17 witness last year,
only for him to be handed over to Russia as part of a high-profile prisoner swap.

Kharchenko lived a quiet life in Donetsk and didn’t suspect that this could happen to him,”
BBC Russia quoted an unnamed former fellow soldier as saying.
“Perhaps they’re guarding him in this cruel way,
but it’s a very strange way of securing a person.”

Kharchenko is reportedly being held in a Donetsk justice ministry detention center.
Authorities extended his arrest by two months last Friday, according to BBC Russia.

Judges at a March hearing in the Netherlands adjourned the MH17 trial until June 8
to give defense lawyers more time to prepare.

https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2020/05/ ... sia-a70279

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https://nos.nl/artikel/2366920-verdedig ... -zien.html

https://translate.google.com/

The defense in the MH17 trial wants to know whether the Public Prosecution Service
is holding back important wreckage from the downed plane.

This became clear today during an interim hearing in the case, in the extra secure court at Schiphol.

Suspect Oleg Poelatov's lawyers are allowed to view and investigate the wreckage with their own expert.

They want to investigate whether flight MH17 could have been shot down by a Ukrainian fighter plane,
instead of a Russian Buk missile.

All relevant wreckage has been used for the reconstruction and is located at Gilze-Rijen air base, says the OM.

The defense was surprised today that there are still 18 containers with wreckage in Soesterberg.

Photos show that there may also be parts with impact damage.

"We have an interest in seeing and investigating all available wreckage that could say something about the cause of the crash,"
said lawyer Sabine ten Doesschate.

She therefore called for all aircraft parts to be shown "with relevant damage",
not only for the defense but also if the court itself wants to have a look in Gilze-Rijen.

"Otherwise, it may be a distorted image,
namely only the image that fits the scenario of the Public Prosecution Service."

The Public Prosecution Service will respond to the defense's criticism later today.
Whether the court itself will also look at the wreckage is not yet certain.

June
In the MH17 trial, three Russians and a Ukrainian are on trial for downing the passenger plane in 2014.
298 people were killed. Most of the victims were Dutch.

Of the four suspects, only Pulatov is represented by lawyers.
He denies having to do with the downing of the plane
and says he was also not involved in the transport of the Buk missile that was said to have shot down the plane.

At the time, Pulatov was deputy commander of a reconnaissance and espionage unit of the Eastern Ukrainian rebels.

They fought for independence in the area where flight MH17 crashed. The other suspects also had military functions.

The court expects to be able to deal with the substance of the case from June 2021,
even if the suspects themselves are not present.

Until then, a number of witnesses will be heard and additional research into visual material is underway.

https://nos.nl/artikel/2366920-verdedig ... -zien.html

https://translate.google.com/

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUQk6i31fBc

https://nos.nl/nieuwsuur/artikel/237624 ... wsuur.html

Verantwoording MH17-reconstructie Nieuwsuur

https://www.dutchnews.nl/news/2021/04/m ... sile-move/

MH17 suspect tapes show planning behind BUK missile move
April 11, 2021

One of the men on trial for his role in the flight MH17 disaster only knew
a passenger plane had been brought down hours after it happened, current affairs programme Nieuwsuur said on Sunday.

The tapes also show how suspects behind the downing of the plane discussed the need for heavyweight artillery and tanks
in their battle to take the border with Russia from the Ukrainian military.

The official investigation concluded in 2016 that the plane was shot down from Ukrainian farmland by a Buk missile
‘controlled by pro-Russian fighters’.

That conclusion has been disputed by Russia, which claims that Ukrainian fighters were responsible.

In total, Nieuwsuur has obtained tapes of thousands of conversations made by Sergei Dubinsky before, during and after the incident in 2014.

The conversations have been released by the Ukraine secret service and are authentic,
Dutch investigators say.

...continues at
https://www.dutchnews.nl/news/2021/04/m ... sile-move/

https://nos.nl/nieuwsuur/artikel/237624 ... -ramp.html
/
https://www.rtlnieuws.nl/nieuws/nederla ... iegtuig-om

https://nltimes.nl/2021/04/11/thousands ... n-disaster

SUNDAY, APRIL 11, 2021 - 11:20

Thousands of secret MH17 tapes provide insight into the situation before, during and after the disaster

One of the main suspects in the MH17 trial was unaware for hours that the separatists in Eastern Ukraine had brought down a Boeing.
This is evident from tapped telephone conversations of one of the main suspects in the investigation, Sergei Dubinsky.

Television program Nieuwsuur owns these audiotapes and analyzed the material.
In total, it concerns thousands of telephone conversations that Dubinsky made in the months of July and August 2014:
before, during and after the disaster with flight MH17.

They provide a detailed picture of the raw reality of the war in Eastern Ukraine.

Dubinsky was head of an espionage and reconnaissance unit during the disaster.
The fact that Dubinski and his accomplices did not know what had been shot does not matter for the accusation,
according to the Public Prosecution Service.

"They are guilty of crashing an airplane and murdering the occupants."
According to the OM, intent does not have to be proven for this.

The tapes are authentic, according to the Joint Investigation Team (JIT).
They were recorded by the Ukrainian Secret Service.
Twelve conversations have already been made public by the international team investigating the cause of the disaster.
The thousands of telephone calls are also in the hands of the Public Prosecution Service.

The tapes also show that Russia's influence on the separatists was increasing from the beginning of July 2014.
Moscow was involved in strategic military decisions.
"Someone has come from Moscow today.
It looks like the entire political top will be replaced," someone told Dubinsky in early July.

From that month onwards, the pro-Russian separatists have means of communication that could not be overheard.
"They go via the FSB (the Russian secret service), via Moscow," says Dubinsky.
The separatists knew they could be overheard and, therefore, often met in person.
If that doesn't work, they would pick up the phone.

The day of the disaster
In a conversation on July 17, the day of the disaster, Dubinsky reports that he had direct contact with Moscow.
His commander Igor Girkin is also said to have spoken to Moscow "up to the highest level".

That same day, Dubinsky talks a lot about the Buk missile that eventually takes down the MH17.
The weapon was supposedly necessary to do something against the attacks of the fighters of the Ukrainian Air Force
in the battle around the border town of Marinovka.

At 4.20 p.m., the Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, with 298 passengers, disappears from the radar.
Among the passenger killed, 196 were Dutch nationals.

Aftermath
Less than half an hour after the downing of flight MH17,
Dubinsky hears from his accomplices that they have downed a Ukrainian fighter plane.

It then takes almost two hours for Dubinski to discover that a Boeing has been downed at that time.

When Dubinsky calls for clarification, his people change their story.
They repeat that they shot down an opponent's fighter plane,
but only after that plane took down the Boeing.

Flight MH17 was thus, according to Dubinski's men, downed by a Ukrainian fighter plane.
That theory also forms the basis for what is later presented at a press conference by the Russian Ministry of Defense.

But a large part of that information soon turns out to be false: according to the Dutch Safety Board,
there were no other aircraft in the vicinity of flight MH17.

Harassment

Later, the Russian authorities switched to a different theory: flight MH17 was downed by a Ukrainian Buk.
But from the overheard conversations with the main suspect Dubinsky, this is never mentioned.

The Buk remains in the area for hours after the disaster and is not driven back to Russia until night.

For hours, Dubinsky and his boss, Defense Secretary Girkin, have no idea where the weapon is.

The talks also provide a revealing picture of how separatists dealt with each other
and how intimidation and theft were part of daily practice.

https://nltimes.nl/2021/04/11/thousands ... n-disaster

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https://www-rd-nl.translate.goog/artike ... r_pto=wapp

https://www.ad.nl/mh17/advocaten-mh17-v ... ~a326ff25/

Ukraine war does not affect lawyers MH17 process

March 2, 2022 16:13
Altered:
March 2, 2022 16:15

The war in Ukraine has no consequences for the defense of MH17 suspect Oleg Pulatov.
His lawyers Boudewijn van Eijck and Sabine ten Doesschate have informed us of this.
“It is necessary, especially in times like these,
that the principles of a democratic constitutional state remain intact.”

Pulatov and his three co-defendants face a sentence of life imprisonment.
From Monday it will be the lawyers' turn to plead.
The Russian Pulatov denies involvement.
He is the only suspect to be represented in court, the other three have not responded to calls.

"We have thought long and hard about whether the terrible war in Ukraine should affect our actions as lawyers for a Russian citizen,"
his lawyers said.

“We cannot, must not and will not bow to violations of the rule of law principles elsewhere in the world.

Not even when, like now, it's difficult.
It is the task of a criminal lawyer to assist a suspect and to remain standing in court
and in this way to contribute to the maintenance of our rule of law.
We will continue to do that.”

Flight MH17 was shot down over eastern Ukraine on July 17, 2014.

All 298 people on board, including many Dutch people,
were killed in the disaster with the Malaysia Airlines plane.

It is not known exactly why the plane, which was en route from Schiphol to the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur, was shot down.

The most likely scenario is that the pro-Russian separatists did not realize it was a passenger flight.

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https://www.reuters.com/world/australia ... 022-03-14/
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https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/ ... 7-disaster

Mon 14 Mar 2022 07.30 GMT

Australia and the Netherlands have launched legal proceedings against Russia
through the International Civil Aviation Organization for the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17.

The legal action could compel Russia
to take part in stalled negotiations with the two countries,
and could also result in it being penalised by the United Nations-linked organisation
which is responsible for the administration of international aviation law.

Australia and the Netherlands have been seeking compensation
and an apology from the Russian Federation for the MH17 disaster
that saw 298 people, including 38 Australians, killed when it was shot down over Ukraine in 2014.


However, Russia, which has denied involvement despite the findings of an international investigation,
unilaterally withdrew from negotiations with the two countries in October 2020.

Australia’s foreign minister, Marise Payne, and attorney general, Michaelia Cash,
announced on Monday that Australia would be launching joint action with the Netherlands
under Article 84 of the Convention on International Civil Aviation,
and will allege that Russia is in breach of the Chicago Convention that underpins aviation law.

“We have maintained since May 2018
that the Russian Federation is responsible under international law for the downing of flight MH17,”
Payne said in a statement ahead of Monday evening’s announcement in Sydney.


“Today’s joint action by Australia and the Netherlands is a major step forward in both countries’ fight for truth, justice and accountability for this horrific act of violence.”

“The Russian Federation’s refusal to take responsibility for its role in the downing of flight MH17
is unacceptable and the Australian government
has always said that it will not exclude any legal options in our pursuit of justice.”

Australia and the Netherlands will rely on what they say is the “overwhelming evidence”
that the flight was shot down by a Russian Buk-Telar surface-to-air missile system,
which was transported from Russia to an agricultural field in the east of Ukraine on the morning of 17 July 2014.

At the time the area was under the control of Russian-backed separatists.

The two countries will also present evidence that the missile system
belonged to the Russian Federation’s 53rd anti-aircraft military brigade,
and was accompanied by a trained Russian military crew.

Only the trained Russian crew of the Buk-Telar,
or someone acting under their instruction, direction or control
could have launched the missile system,
which was returned to the Russian Federation shortly after the downing of flight MH17.

The legal action is in addition to the Dutch national prosecution of four suspects
for their individual criminal responsibility in the downing of the flight:
three Russians, Igor Girkin, Sergey Dubinskiy, Oleg Pulatov, and a Ukrainian, Leonid Kharchenko.

An international investigation found that the men did not “push the button” on the missile system themselves,
but had brought the anti-aircraft system to eastern Ukraine
and were the link between the Moscow-backed separatist Donetsk People’s Republic and Russia.

In the statement, Payne said the Russian Federation needed to be held to account for its breaches of international law,
particularly in light of the invasion of Ukraine.

“Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified invasion of Ukraine
and the escalation of its aggression underscores the need to continue our enduring efforts to hold Russia to account
for its blatant violation of international law
and the UN charter, including threats to Ukraine’s sovereignty and airspace,” Payne said.

“While we cannot take away the grief of those whose loved ones died as a result of Russia’s actions,
the Australian government will pursue every available avenue
to ensure Russia is held to account so that this horrific act never happens again.”

At a press conference in Sydney,
Payne told reporters Australia could “consider” withdrawing the action
if Russia is “prepared to return to [the] negotiating table …
but we have seen no sign of good faith from Russia on that for some time”.

Australia and the Netherlands informed the Russian Federation in 2018
that the two countries held Russia responsible under international law for its role in the bringing down of MH17,
despite the Kremlin’s repeated denials.

Australia’s then foreign minister, Julie Bishop,
at the time called on Russia to “enter into negotiations to open up a dialogue about its conduct and to seek reparations” for the families affected.

https://www.reuters.com/world/australia ... 022-03-14/
/
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/ ... 7-disaster

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https://www.telegraaf.nl/nieuws/5666363 ... ukken-mh17
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https://www.ad.nl/binnenland/om-zet-mh1 ... ~a3f76812/
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https://www.villamedia.nl/artikel/recht ... 17-door-om

https://www-telegraaf-nl.translate.goog ... r_pto=wapp

Court gives OM a slap on the wrist for putting procedural documents MH17 online

Updated Today, 15:33
Today, 15:18
in INTERIOR


SCHIPHOL - During the final days of the trial against four suspects of the downing of flight MH17,
the Public Prosecution Service received a heavy slap on the fingers of the court.

The Public Prosecution Service placed an animation about the process on its website on May 18, complete with parts of the file.

The court was informed about this an hour in advance, when publication was already "irreversible",
according to a clearly annoyed chairman Hendrik Steenhuis,
who spoke of "a fait accompli."

The court had only just decided to make parts of the file available to relatives subject to conditions
when the Public Prosecution Service made them public.

Where Steenhuis still expressed himself diplomatically,
the defense of suspect Oleg Pulatov went in with a straight leg.

The lawyers Sabine ten Doesschate and Boudewijn van Eijck accused the Public Prosecution Service
of completely ignoring the principle that a suspect is innocent, until the judge decides otherwise.

In the animation, the Public Prosecution Service consistently speaks of 'perpetrators' instead of suspects.

Not only are facts presented, but the Public Prosecution Service also colors them, they say.

“Convictions of the Public Prosecution Service are presented as facts. Also untenable accusations that the defense has extensively refuted.”

...see for yourselves at
https://strafdossiermh17.om.nl/
/
https://criminalfilesmh17.prosecutionservice.nl/

During these criminal proceedings the court summarised and discussed the entire case file.

Not all the evidence that was discussed was exhibited or played at trial.

The court’s discussion can be found at www.courtmh17.com.

The case file is extensive and this publication is not intended to be an exhaustive guide.

This summary by the Public Prosecution Service is intended to offer the next of kin and the wider public
detailed and accessible information from the case file.

An overview of all court hearings and associated texts can be found at www.prosecutionservice.nl/mh17.

https://criminalfilesmh17.prosecutionservice.nl

Also:
https://www.straitstimes.com/world/euro ... rial-wraps

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https://www.courtmh17.com/en/news/2022/ ... -2022.html

Provisional judgment date: 17 November 2022
The District Court of The Hague has provisionally scheduled the judgment for 17 November 2022.

The judgment will take half a day to deliver and is likely to be presented in the afternoon.

Developments in the criminal proceedings may lead the provisional date for the judgment to be modified. We will of course announce any changes promptly on this website and via our other communication channels.

https://www.courtmh17.com/en/news/2022/ ... -2022.html

Perhaps also of interest:
https://www.theatlantic.com/internation ... al/671302/

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https://wnl.tv/2022/11/04/bellingcat-di ... dachte-is/
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https://wnl-tv.translate.goog/2022/11/0 ... r_pto=wapp

On November 4, 2022 — 00:05

Bellingcat director: 'We know where the MH17 prime suspect is'

Christo Grozev, director of research collective Bellingcat, has also been described as Putin's number one public enemy.

Grozev discovered, among other things, who poisoned opposition leader Navalny and uncovered a lot of information about MH17.
Grozev receives many threats from the Russians.

“I am indeed in danger, but I don't think about it too much. Otherwise they have won,” says Grozev in Op1

Journalist Yuri Albrecht helped Grozev with his work over the past year to expose the spies.
He gave the Bellingcat editors shelter in the Balie in Amsterdam last year.

Grozev is in addition to work on exposing the spies, still working on the extensive MH17 trial.

The culprits are designated, but getting them behind bars is difficult as long as they cannot be arrested.

“We know where the prime suspect, Igor Girkin, is.
He currently works for the Russian army and is recruiting new soldiers,” said Grozev.

“Meanwhile, the Kremlin is keeping a close eye on him that he is not caught by the Ukrainian or other European secret services.

Because then the whole Russian story about MH17 falls into the water.”

Grozev does not rule out the possibility that the Dutch secret service is also 'hunting' for Grozev.

https://open.overheid.nl/repository/ron ... girkin.pdf

Datum 1 november 2022
Onderwerp Antwoorden Kamervragen over MH17-verdachte Igor Girkin

Hierbij bied ik, mede namens de minister van Buitenlandse zaken, antwoorden
aan op de schriftelijke vragen gesteld door het lid De Roon over MH17-verdachte
Igor Girkin. Deze vragen werden ingezonden op 18 oktober 2022 met kenmerk
2022Z19717.

Question 1
Are you familiar with the message that Ukraine has a hundred thousand dollars
offered for (tips leading to) the transfer of MH17 suspect
Igor Girkin to the Ukrainian army?
Answer to question 1
Yes.

Question 2
Are Ukrainian measures and actions aimed at Girkin
communicated or coordinated with the Netherlands, as he is one of the
four main suspects in the MH17 case?
Answer to question 2
The Netherlands and Ukraine work closely together with the other JIT countries where it is
concerns the criminal investigation into the downing of flight MH17. About
ongoing criminal cases and interstate communication in that context, I cannot
make statements.

Question 3
Do you remember that Ukraine, despite strong objections from
Netherlands, a major MH17 suspect (Vladimir Tsemach) as
part of a prisoner exchange left for Russia?2
Answer to question 3
Yes.

Question 4
Have you already let Ukraine know this time that it is huge for the Netherlands?
It is important that Girkin is extradited to the Netherlands, and you already have
commitments received from Ukraine in this regard?

Question 5
If you have not yet received any commitments, are you prepared to
Diplomatic pressure on Ukraine at the highest level to
Girkin to extradite to the Netherlands in due course?

Answer to questions 4 and 5
Girkin has been international since the prosecution decision in the MH17 criminal case
signaled. The Public Prosecution Service has announced that if Girkin is in Ukraine
arrested, his extradition will be requested. This message is also
handed over to the Ukrainian authorities.

https://www.rijksoverheid.nl/documenten ... zaken-mh17

To the President of the House of Representatives
of the States General
PO Box 20018
2500 EA THE HAGUE

Date November 3, 2022
Subject State of affairs MH17

I hereby inform your House, also on behalf of the Minister of Foreign Affairs
and the Minister of Infrastructure and Water Management,
about the state of affairs in the
various legal proceedings concerning the downing of flight MH17.

It concerns the criminal proceedings,
the state complaint against Russia at the European Court of Justice
Human Rights (ECtHR) and the proceedings against Russia
at the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).

These procedures contribute
to achieve truth-finding, justice and accountability for
all 298 victims of the downing of flight MH17 and their relatives.

criminal trial

The court of The Hague has announced on 17 November 2022
next
to rule in the criminal case against the four suspects for their role in the
downing of flight MH17.

On that day, there will be a court end to a special criminal trial of unprecedented magnitude,
which began on 9 March 2020.

This criminal trial follows a unique criminal investigation of the
Joint Investigation Team (JIT),
which in addition to the Netherlands consists of Australia, Belgium, Malaysia and Ukraine
and has been in the works for 8 years.

The process was
conducted in the Netherlands, according to Dutch criminal and procedural law,

but characterized by an international context and the support of international
partners.

The location was also special: at the Judicial Complex Schiphol,
special provisions were made to enable a safe criminal process and
where there is sufficient information for relatives, the press and other interested parties
facilities to be able to monitor the process remotely or not.

The way on which the police, the Public Prosecution Service, the JIT partners, the judiciary and
other stakeholders
have committed themselves to this special process in recent years
used, deserves a big compliment.

In the run-up to 2022 November 17, my thoughts are particularly with the
relatives of the victims of flight MH17.

Many of them will
attend the verdict, including a large number of foreign relatives.

In recent years they have attended the hearings in the criminal proceedings or through the
can follow the live stream.
Also, about a hundred relatives have very

impressively exercised the right to speak.

With these statements,
she gave a face to the many victims of MH17 and the impact this
events on the personal lives of countless people.

The
possibility to exercise the right to speak for next of kin constituted a
important consideration for conducting the MH17 process in the Netherlands.

The verdict on November 17, 2022 marks the end of the criminal trial in the first place
predisposition.

If one of the parties appeals, the process will
proceed to second instance.

In case there is indeed a process in higher
appeal follows,
the necessary preparations are made by the organizations involved
affected.

State complaint ECtHR

On 10 July 2020, the Netherlands filed an interstate petition ('state complaint')
filed with the ECtHR against Russia regarding its role in the downing of flight
MH17.

The hearing on admissibility took place on January 26, 2022 and after
a positive decision on eligibility,
which will start at the end of this year or else
is expected next year,
the ECtHR will continue with the substantive
therapy.

Russia is now no longer a member of the Russian Federation because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine
the Council of Europe. (...lost in machine-translation... )

This means that Russia is no longer a party to the
European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).

However, that has no
consequences for the ongoing proceedings against Russia at the ECtHR.

The ECtHR
remains competent to judge acts of states during the period that they
were still parties to the ECHR, which is the case in this case.

Inmiddels is Rusland vanwege de Russische invasie in Oekraïne niet langer lid van
de Raad van Europa. Daarmee is de Rusland ook geen partij meer bij het
Europees Verdrag voor de Rechten van de Mens (EVRM). Dat heeft echter geen
gevolgen voor de al lopende procedures tegen Rusland bij het EHRM. Het EHRM
blijft bevoegd om te oordelen over handelingen van staten in de periode dat zij
nog partij waren bij het EVRM, wat in deze zaak het geval is

Procedure ICAO

On March 14, 2022, the Netherlands, together with Australia, will be in legal proceedings
initiated at the ICAO Council against Russia for its role in bringing down flight
MH17.

You have been informed about this by letter from the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and
Infrastructure and Water Management of 14 March 2022 (Parliamentary Papers 33997, no. 172)
informed.

More specifically, under Article 84 of the
Chicago Convention1
filed a complaint with the ICAO Council against Russia
with
a factual and legal substantiation of the violations by Russia of
this treaty in the context of the downing of flight MH17.

Netherlands and
Australia have asked the ICAO Council to determine that Russia

has violated obligations under the Chicago Convention by
using of a weapon against a civil aircraft in flight,
where 298 victims have died,
and to attach legal consequences thereto,
including compensation for the damage suffered.

The ICAO Council is empowered to
adjudicate on disputes under this Convention.

The procedure at the ICAO Council is
confidential and there are no public hearings.

In the ongoing proceedings
The Netherlands and Australia are currently preparing a response to documents
which have been referred
to the Council by Russia as a result of the complaint lodged
laid down.

This procedure is expected to take several years
to take.

Separate procedures

The criminal proceedings against the four suspects and the proceedings against Russia at the
ECtHR and the ICAO Council form separate processes.

The pronunciation in
criminal trial on 17 November 2022 will see the individual criminal
liability of the four suspects,
while the proceedings at the ECtHR and
ICAO oversee the liability of the State of Russia for its role in
downing of flight MH17.

These separate routes all serve the same purpose:
truth-finding, justice and accountability for the 298 victims and their
relatives.

The Minister of Justice and Security,
D. Yeşilgöz-Zegeriu

s