Defendants in the MH17 Boeing crash case need to directly apply to and present themselves at the Dutch court if they want to make a statement rather than take to social media, Maria Kneif, a judge from the District Court of The Hague, said in an interview with RIA Novosti
AMSTERDAM (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 20th April, 2021) Defendants in the MH17 Boeing crash case need to directly apply to and present themselves at the Dutch court if they want to make a statement rather than take to social media, Maria Kneif, a judge from the District Court of The Hague, said in an interview with RIA Novosti.
Last October, one of the defendants in the case, Russian national Sergey Dubinsky, used independent journalism project Bonanza Media to announce his readiness to take a polygraph test in Russia in the presence of a representative of the Dutch prosecutor's office and answer the questions on the crash.
"All the accused know about the dates of the court hearings and any of them is allowed to make a statement in court and participate, and all they need to do is contact the court and say that they [are] willing to make a statement in court and be present. Social media is not the way to do this," Kneif said.
The judge however sidestepped the question on whether the court considers sending its representative in Russia to hear the position of the defendant, reiterating that if they directly contact the court they will be heard.
"They need to contact the court and the court can consider how best to allow them to participate, and they have received the summons, and if they respond to the summons and appeals from the court, [the court will] consider how they could make their statement," the judge added.
The Malaysian plane bound to Kuala Lumpur crashed in July 2014 while flying over a conflict zone in eastern Ukraine, killing all 298 people on board. A probe launched after the disaster established that the plane was downed by a missile. According to an international group of investigators, excluding Russian ones, the missile belonged to the Russian armed forces, an allegation Moscow repeatedly denied. Though Russia offered help in the investigation, it was denied access to the probe.
The trial of four suspects � three Russians and a Ukrainian � began last March in the Netherlands, but had to be adjourned over the COVID-19 pandemic.
