Dutch court convicts 3 men of killing 298 people on Malaysia Airlines flight MH17

By AP 17 November 2022, 4:44 pm

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People inspect the crash site of a passenger plane near the village of Hrabove, Donetsk region of Ukraine, July 17, 2014. (AP Photo/Dmitry Lovetsky, File)

A Dutch court convicts two Russians and a Ukrainian of the murders of 298 people who died in the 2014 downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over Ukraine. One Russian was acquitted for lack of evidence.

Presiding Judge Hendrik Steenhuis said that evidence presented by prosecutors at a trial that lasted more than two years proved that the Boeing 777 flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur was brought down by a Buk missile fired by pro-Moscow Ukrainian rebels on July 17, 2014.

None of the defendants appeared for the trial that began in March 2020 and it’s unlikely they will serve their sentance. Prosecutors had sought life sentences for all four. Prosecutors and the suspects have two weeks to file an appeal.