MFA: MH17 trial is based on a political order

The results of the trial in the case of a Boeing 777 shot down in the sky over Ukraine, which was on flight MH17 from Amsterdam to Malaysian Kuala Lumpur, indicate that the trial was based on a political order against Russia. Such a statement did Russian Foreign Ministry, commenting on the verdict passed earlier today in The Hague.

“Both the course and the results of the proceedings indicate that it was based on a political order to reinforce the version promoted by The Hague and its associates in the Joint Investigation Group about Russia’s involvement in the tragedy,” the ministry said in a statement.

The Russian Foreign Ministry questioned the objectivity and impartiality of the court in The Hague. According to the Russian Ministry, the Dutch court “adjusted” the evidence base for the verdict, ignoring the “contradictory facts”. Diplomats pointed to the pressure that was put on the court by Dutch politicians, prosecutors and the media. The result of the proceedings in the department was called “politically motivated.”

In addition, the Russian department drew attention to the conclusions of the prosecutor’s office, based on the testimony of anonymous witnesses. At the same time, the court in The Hague refused to take into account the argument of the defense that there was no convincing evidence that the plane was shot down by the Russian Buk air defense system.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported that the Russian Defense Ministry has declassified data on the transfer to Ukraine of a rocket whose serial number matches the wreckage at the crash site. However, the Dutch court ignored them, the ministry said.

“The trial in the Netherlands has every chance of becoming one of the most scandalous in the history of legal proceedings with its extensive list of oddities, inconsistencies and dubious arguments of the prosecution,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

Earlier today the court in The Hague definedthat flight MH17 was shot down by a Buk air defense system from a field near Pervomaisky. “The court is of the opinion that the Boeing crashed while launching a missile from the Buk air defense system from a field near the village of Pervomaisky,” said Judge Hendrik Steinhuis.

The Hague Court also acknowledged Igor Girkin (Strelkov), Sergei Dubinsky (Khmury) and Leonid Kharchenko (Krot) were guilty of the plane crash. They were sentenced to life imprisonment, and the convicts must also pay the relatives of the victims at least 16 million euros in compensation.

Boeing 777 of Malaysian Airlines, following flight MH17 from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, crashed on July 17, 2014 in the Donetsk region. There were 298 people on board, all of them died.

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