The five-year probe into the downing of the Malaysian MH17 airliner in eastern Ukraine has led to murder charges against three Russians and a Ukrainian but the quest to persecute those responsible is far from over, Western media say
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 20th June, 2019) The five-year probe into the downing of the Malaysian MH17 airliner in eastern Ukraine has led to murder charges against three Russians and a Ukrainian but the quest to persecute those responsible is far from over, Western media say.The Joint Investigation Team (JIT), made up of officials from the Netherlands, Australia, Belgium, Malaysia and Ukraine, accused Igor Girkin, Sergei Dubinsky, Oleg Plutalov and Ukrainian Leonid Kharchenko on Wednesday of playing a key role in bringing down the plane in July 2014 with a Buk missile. The strike killed all 298 people on board.�
International arrest warrants have been issued for the suspects and the charges have been filed in a Dutch court, which set the trial for March 9, 2020.
Russia's Foreign Ministry again rejected as baseless the accusations that Russian nationals had been involved in the plane's shooting, saying JIT had not presented a shred of evidence to support its claims. It denied refusing o cooperate with investigators and promised to help find and bring the real perpetrators to justice.
The New York Times wrote Thursday that the long-awaited announcement by a Dutch-led team of investigators was a "culmination" of the probe but added that "probably not much" would come out of it since the suspects were on Russian soil and unlikely to appear in the Dutch court to face the charges.
The Washington Examiner went as far as to suggest that the United States, Australia and the Netherlands set up a joint task force "to find, capture, and render suspects ... so that they will face charges."
The Washington Post meanwhile pointed out that the charges "underscored the lingering tensions between Western Europe and Russia" over the six-year conflict in eastern Ukraine, which has killed some 13,000 people.
UK media praised the Dutch-led team of investigators for doing a good job probing the downing of the Malaysia Airlines flight, which they claimed turned up a lot of evidence, but echoed US doubts that the suspects would go before the Dutch court.
The Guardian said Russia's constitution forbade extradition of its nationals. The Financial Times predicted that if Moscow refused to hand over the suspects, the "international community will have few options but further tightening of sanctions."
Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad denounced the charges on Friday as a "politically motivated" conclusion solely aimed at blaming Russia, according to the Malay Mail newspaper.
Speaking at a press conference, he said Malaysia was very unhappy with the result of the investigation and found it hard to accept the conclusion. He said the finger had been pointed at Russia before the probe even began.
Mahathir Mohamad urged investigators to share their evidence with his government. "So far, there is no proof, only hearsay," he concluded.
Russia has offered JIT its help, despite claims to the contrary. Russia's deputy chief prosecutor Nikolai Vinnichenko said they had provided the Netherlands with Russian radar readings and documents that proved the Buk missile that struck down the Malaysian plane belonged to Ukraine. JIT ignored them.
Media in Belgium, whose law enforcement agencies had been heavily involved in the JIT probe, cited government officials as saying that charges were not enough.
The kingdom's Foreign Ministry said that establishing the identities of those involved in the plane crash was "not the end of the investigation," according to Le Soir newspaper.
An unnamed Belgian diplomat told La Libre daily that Belgium would "continue its efforts to shed light on all facts to guarantee a free, fair and transparent investigation to the crash victims and their families."
Those killed in the crash were mostly Dutch, Australian or Malaysian. The plane was en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur when it vanished off the radars over an area in Ukraine's war-torn Donetsk region.
Those who lost their loved ones have welcomed progress in the case after a five-year wait.
Meryn O'Brien, whose son was killed on the flight, watched the press conference at which the charges were announced. She told ABC news that the charges would not alter the reality of living without her son. "For us, I guess it's just another step along the way," she added.
