A Dutch court, on Thursday, will give its verdict in the trial of four men over the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 above Ukraine in 2014. The verdict comes amid the ensuing war between Russia and Ukraine.
The suspects — Russians Igor Girkin, Sergei Dubinsky, Oleg Pulatov and Ukrainian Leonid Kharchenko - will not be in court as they have refused to attend the two-and-a-half-year trial, CNA reported.
It has been eight years since the airliner travelling from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur was shot down over eastern Ukraine. The missile was shot during a conflict between pro-Russia separatists and Ukrainian forces killing all 298 people on board including the crew. The missile came from a unit of the pro-Russia forces— the 53rd Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade.
The judgement comes after a painstaking investigation in which prosecutors led judges through thousands of pages of evidence, which reportedly includes phone call intercepts. Prosecutors have demanded life sentences for all four suspects. If the panel finds the act wasn't premeditated, the suspects could be convicted of manslaughter.
A panel of three Dutch judges will read out the verdict at a high-security court near Schiphol Airport. The MH17 aircraft took off from Schiphol Airport on July 17, 2014. The defence lawyer of one of the suspects and Moscow have denied any involvement in the downing of the aircraft.
