Trial begins into downing of MH17 has daughter of couple killed calling for ‘honesty’
Families not seeking vengeance but answers to the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, shot by a Russian missile in 2014.
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Jane Malcolm does not want vengeance, she wants answers and so too do the families of the 298 victims of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, as four men accused of shooting down the passenger jet appear in court today.
Russians Igor Girkin, Sergey Dubinsky and Oleg Pulatov and Ukrainian Leonid Kharchenko will not be attending court but their long-awaited trial into the 2014 downing of the aircraft begins to unravel who did what and why.
Jane Malcolm, 43, of Sydney, lost her parents, Carol and Michael Clancy, in the tragedy.
The retired Wollongong teachers were among the 38 Australians who were killed in the MH17 attack.
Russia has been blamed for six years, with phone records and social media posts linking key figures to the crime.
“They still don’t have an alternative theory,” Ms Malcolm said yesterday.
“It’s proven they interfered after it happened but they have never said what happened to the plane.
“I just want the facts to be known, I’m not hell bent on vengeance, I just want them to stop it happening again. We want honesty for the families.”
Ms Malcolm, who planned to attend the hearings later in year, said the court hearings were still important even though it was unlikely the charged men would attend court.
“At no stage has it looked likely they will show up, if they did, what would you do with them?” she said.
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She said she wanted an end to “Russia’s lies.”
The Kremlin disputed the findings of the Joint Investigation Team there was a direct line of military command between the Ukrainian rebels and Russian authorities when details of the charges were detailed in June last year.
The JIT, which has been supported by the Australian Federal Police, and police in The Netherlands, Belgium, Malaysia and the Ukraine, will bring the weight of six years of investigation to the table.
The hunt for more people responsible for the massacre will continue “unabated” at the same time as the four suspects go on trial in Amsterdam for mass murder.
Australia has signed on to continue investigations into MH17, along with authorities from Belgium, Malaysia, Ukraine and The Netherlands.
A deal to extend the investigation was announced early on Monday Australian time, after members of the Joint Investigation Team visited the MH17 memorial for a wreath laying ceremony.
“The prolongation ensures the investigation into the downing of MH17 continues unabated and in parallel with the trial of the four suspects,” the JIT said in a statement.
MH17 investigators have more than 6000 pieces of online evidence detailing the lead up to the mass murder of 298 people on the doomed flight.
There were 298 passengers and crew who perished when the flight from Amsterdam to Malaysia was shot down on July 17, 2014, over Ukrainian air space.
Russian backed separatists have been blamed for the attack, which used a buk-missile allegedly supplied by the Kremlin.
Girkin was a former high-ranking member of Russia’s FSB intelligence service and was appointed minster for defence for the Moscow-backed Donetsk that was once under rebel control.
Dubinsky was employed by Russia’s GRU military intelligence agency and Pulatov, was a former soldier linked with the GRU.
Kharchenko had no military background, but was accused of an important role in the attack.
The JIT has also been searching for the crew directly involved in the attack.
But Ms Malcolm said she was concerned that one of those potentially responsible was sent back to Russia in a prisoner swap with the Ukraine in September last year.
Foreign Minister Marise Payne wrote to Ms Malcolm and the other Australian families raising her concerns that Vladimir Tsemakh was part of the exchange.
US president Donald Trump tweeted his support of the swap at the time, which has left Ms Malcolm wanting America to put more pressure on Russia to co-operate with the JIT probe.
“It all happened suddenly. The US don’t seem to be applying the pressure to Russia,” she said.
Ms Malcolm, who has visited the MH17 memorial, said she was terribly sad for the children and young people killed in the crash.
She said the ages of the victims “stood out” at the memorial.
“There were 80 children on that flight, as people in their 20s. Late teens and early 20s, that’s technically children,” she said.
“I’m 43 so I’m getting to the age where people are having their parents die. In some ways its normal, in other ways, it’s very much not.
“There are people who have lost their kids, to some extent you are expecting your parents to die before you, but there were so many young people.”
The hunt for more people responsible for the shooting down of MH17 will continue “unabated” at the same time as four suspects go on trial in Amsterdam for mass murder.
Australia has signed on to continue investigations into MH17, along with authorities from Belgium, Malaysia, Ukraine and The Netherlands.
A deal to extend the investigation was announced early on Monday Australian time, after members of the Joint Investigation Team visited the MH17 memorial for a wreath laying ceremony.
“The prolongation ensures the investigation into the downing of MH17 continues unabated and in parallel with the trial of the four suspects,” the JIT said in a statement.
MH17 investigators have more than 6000 pieces of online evidence detailing the lead up to the mass murder of 298 people on the doomed flight.
There were 38 Australians on board.
A court hearing was due to begin near Amsterdam late on Monday night Australian time, with the Joint Investigation Team to lay out its case.
Three Russians, Igor Girkin, Sergey Dubinsky and Oleg Pulatov and Ukrainian Leonid Kharchenko have been blamed for the shooting down of the jet in 2014.
The four accused have been linked to Russian authorities, who have been blamed for supplying the Buk missile used to shoot down the jet.
However Russia has denied involvement, and has accused the Australian Federal Police of tampering with evidence.
Deputy Chief Public Prosecutor of the Netherlands Public Prosecution Service Digna van Boetzelaer said she knew that the court case was a burden on families.
“Uncovering the truth is a very time consuming and methodical process,” she said.
“The Netherlands will begin the trial of the four suspects, however this does not mean the investigation into those responsible has been finalised.”
The case, which is being heard at the Schiphol Judicial Complex in the shadows of the airport from where MH17 departed on its journey towards Malaysia, has been slated for 25 weeks of hearings.
A result could be four to five years away, according to lawyers with knowledge of the case.
Families will be able to give victim impact statements and may be able to seek compensation.
However, the four accused will not be in court, although Pulatov will be represented by three lawyers.
Dutch Public Prosecutions Service liaison officer Alwin Dam has been helping families, including Australians, prepare for a harrowing week of opening statements and possible evidence.
“They will be constantly confronted with the horrible event in the coming period. That is hard for them,” he told Dutch broadcaster NPO 1.
“People want a very severe punishment and we understand that, of course.”
There are no extradition treaties in place so it was unlikely that the accused will ever be jailed unless they hand themselves in.
stephen.drill@news.co.uk
Originally published as Trial begins into downing of MH17 has daughter of couple killed calling for ‘honesty’