Surrender mass murderers, Anthony Albanese tells Russia

The government is demanding that Russia hand over three men convicted in absentia of the murders of 298 people killed when ­Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was shot down over eastern Ukraine.

Convicted mass murderers Igor Girkin. left, and Sergey Dubinsky and Oleg Pulatov, right, who was found not guilty.

The government is demanding that Russia hand over three men convicted in absentia of the murders of 298 people killed when ­Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was shot down over eastern Ukraine more than eight years ago.

Anthony Albanese and Foreign Minister Penny Wong called on Russia to accept responsibility for the crime, in which a Soviet-era Buk missile brought down the flight on July 17, 2014, killing all on board including 38 Australian residents and citizens.

Former foreign minister Julie Bishop, who led efforts to recover bodies from the disputed Donetsk region in Ukraine, also demanded that Russia hand the men over.

Family members of some of those killed cheered and sobbed with relief on Thursday when judges in The Hague District Court in The Netherlands handed down life sentences to three Russian separatists found guilty of mass murder by the “grotesque” and “cruel” downing of MH17.

The guilty three – former colonel in the Russian FSB and commander of the army in Donetsk Igor Girkin; his deputy and a former Russian intelligence officer with the GRU Sergey Dubinsky; and Ukrainian national Leonid Kharchenko, who was charged with escorting and guarding the Buk-telar – are unlikely to spend any time behind bars in the immediate future as Russia refuses to hand them over.

A fourth Russian separatist, former intelligence officer Oleg Pulatov, the only one of the four to have defended the charges, was found not guilty on the basis of insufficient evidence.

The court did find the Russia Federation was directly responsible and in charge of the fighting in the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), the separatist area in eastern Ukraine where war had broken out in 2014.

The judges ruled that when MH17 was shot down while flying between Amsterdam and Kuala Lumpur, the Russian Federation had been providing support in the conflict, supplying arms, money and military grade weapons as well as taking on a co-ordination role and instructing the commanders in the DPR.

Australian family members of MH17 victims, from left, Meryn O’Brien, Jon O’Brien, Matthew Horder and Paul Guard outside the court in Schiphol. Picture: Jacquelin Magnay

The court said there was evidence the separatists had direct communication with “Moscow” and “the Kremlin”.

In handing down life sentences to the three, all of whom were tried in absentia, Chief Judge Hendrik Steenhuis said the “consequences are so severe, and (the defendants’) attitudes so detestable, a time limited sentence would not suffice.”

Speaking in Bangkok, Thailand, the Prime Minister welcomed the findings. “We’ve gone through this legal and court process, and we call upon Russia to hand over for justice the people who are involved in this and who have been found to be guilty in ­absentia,’’ Mr Albanese said.

Senator Wong paid tribute to the grieving families who had waited so long for answers.

“The world today knows that Igor Girkin, Sergey Dubinsky and Leonid Kharchenko downed an aircraft and murdered 298 people on board and are now sentenced for life. And no amount of avoidance, obfuscation or disinfor­mation by the Russian Federation can avoid that fact,’’ she said.

“We call on Russia to surrender those convicted so they may face the court’s sentence for their ­heinous crime.’’

Speaking directly to Russia, she said: “These people are murderers, and you should ensure that they face justice.’’

Hundreds of relatives attended the court in The Hague, some sobbing or gasping, others raising their arms in relief at the verdict.

Matthew Horder from the Sunshine Coast lost his parents, Susan, 62, and Howard, 63, who were returning from a European holiday when the Boeing 777 was shot out of the sky. “It is not lost on us that the three found guilty might not see time behind bars … there’s still a little bit of a hollow feeling in terms of whether we have justice, but having the truth is very important,’’ he said.

Paul Guard, who lost his Toowoomba parents, Roger and Jill, said outside the court: “The truth matters.’’

In a message to Russian President Vladimir Putin, Mr Guard said: “End this senseless violence, withdraw from Ukraine – you do not belong there, do not participate in this war. Ukraine has had enough.” He added that he held Russia and Mr Putin responsible for what happened to his family.

The crash scene in July 2014. Picture: AFP

Sydneysider Meryn O’Brien wiped tears as she said she was relieved at the verdicts but while the process was meticulous and thorough and fair, “it doesn’t change anything” having lost son Jack, 25.

Ms Bishop recalled hauling in the Russian ambassador to Australia the day after the bombing, and discovering from him the plane had been bought down by a Russian missile. “He denied any involvement but he did note it was a Buk surface-to-air missile that brought down the plane, information we’d not previously had,’’ she said.

The ambassador at the time was Vladimir Morozov, who held the post until 2016.

“That investigation has now concluded, there are guilty verdicts but Russia still must admit its responsibility for its heinous crime,’’ Ms Bishop told Sky News.

“Russia should be held to account for its actions in deploying a sophisticated military weapon into eastern Ukraine (that) was used to bring down a civilian aircraft. It’s not over, and we must continue to maintain the pressure on Russia to hand over these citizens who have been found guilty.

“Russia cannot continue to hide behind lies and obfuscation, they’ve obstructed this investigation every step of the way. It’s time for Russia to be held to account.’’

Ms Bishop also said Russia had “already invaded Ukraine back in 2014, it just lied about it’’.

“The shooting down of MH17 laid bare that lie,’’ she said. “Russia claimed they weren’t involved in eastern Ukraine, but they were not Ukrainian farmers who were able to deploy a surface-to-air Buk missile and shoot down a commercial plane at 33,000 feet.’’