The Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Mark Rutte, on Thursday highlighted the verdict issued by the Dutch judiciary against three defendants in the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 in eastern Ukraine in July 2014 and described the life sentences as a «step forward» in reaching the «truth» about what happened that day.
«The verdict in the MH17 case was long overdue. It is good that at this moment we have reached it. It is a step forward in the search for truth and justice for the victims and their loved ones,» he said in a message on Twitter.
However, the Dutch president stressed that «it is also another difficult day for many families and friends of the 298 people who lost their lives on that terrible 17 July 2014».
Thus, he has stressed that «although it is very important, this verdict is not the final conclusion». «It is not about the end. All parties still have the right to appeal the decision, but I want to reiterate that an important step has been taken and, hopefully, this will be felt by the relatives of the victims,» he concluded.
The court sentenced Russian defendants Girkin and Dubinsky, as well as Ukrainian Leonid Jarchenko, to life imprisonment ‘in absentia’ for the murder of the 298 people on board the aircraft. All of them have been found guilty of participating in the supply, deployment and removal of the ‘Buk’ system used to shoot down the plane, although a fourth defendant has been acquitted.
Moreover, the judges have confirmed that the plane was hit by a Russian-made missile that was allegedly launched from a territory located in Pervomaisk, in a Russian-controlled area of eastern Ukraine.
