Flight MH17: Trial opens of four accused of murdering 298 over Ukraine
Source: BBC
The trial has opened in the Netherlands of three Russians and a Ukrainian - still at large - for the murder of 298 people aboard Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, shot down over Ukraine in 2014. The Boeing 777 went down amid a conflict in eastern Ukraine, after Russian-backed rebels seized the area.
Investigators say they have proof the Buk missile system that shot it down came from a military base in Russia. A judge called it an "atrocious disaster", as proceedings began. The trial is in a court near Amsterdam's Schiphol airport, the departure point for the Kuala Lumpur-bound flight.
Head judge Hendrik Steenhuis said there had been a "tragic loss of human lives from all around the world". Russia has repeatedly denied involvement in the deadly attack on 17 July 2014. Citizens of 10 different countries died on the airliner. The three Russian men and one Ukrainian man from eastern Ukraine are all linked to the heavily armed pro-Moscow separatists. Neither country extradites its citizens but one of the Russians will have a defence team in the courtroom, and the court says it is also prepared to accept testimony from them by video link.
Read more: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-51725417
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