On March 9, the trial against four persons charged with murder in the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 (designated as MH17) began at The Hague. Dutch prosecutors say the three Russians and one Ukrainian on trial (in absentia) had arranged for the Russian missile system that was used to shoot down MH17 on July 17, 2014, over Ukraine’s Donbas region. The names of all 298 people killed that day were read out by a prosecutor, and the presiding judge, Hendrik Steenhuis, said in his opening remarks, “Many people have long waited for this day.”
Murder In The Sky: Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17
The Ukrainian Weekly: The MH17 trial begins
District Court of The Hague Dutch press judge Yolande Wijnnobel (L) speaks past Dutch press judge Paul Rouwen about the first session of the international MH17 trial in Badhoevedorp, The Netherlands, on March 9, 2020.
