Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof on Wednesday vowed to bring to justice those behind the downing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17, as relatives of those killed gathered to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the disaster.
Russia has refused to extradite three men convicted by a Dutch court over their role in shooting down the plane. Last year international investigators suspended their work, saying there was not enough evidence to prosecute more suspects.
However, Schoof told hundreds of mourners and government dignitaries: “We remain united in our fight for justice. That’s what’s driving us.”
Photo: EPA-EFE
He was speaking at a ceremony in the memorial park near Schiphol Airport.
It was from there that the doomed flight took off on a bright summer’s day on July 17, 2014.
Hours later the Boeing 777 jet was shot down by a Russian-made BUK surface-to-air missile over eastern Ukraine, as it passed on a flight line toward Kuala Lumpur.
All 298 people on board were killed.
“You all know that a conviction is not the same as somebody being behind bars,” Schoof said.
“Justice requires us to be prepared for the long haul — and we are,” he said. “We’ve got the time, the patience and the perseverance. That’s my message to the guilty, and my promise to the relatives.”
A Dutch court in November 2022 sentenced three men in absentia to life imprisonment for their roles in bringing down the plane over separatist-held pro-Russian territory.
It happened during the early stages of the conflict during which Russia seized the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine.
The judges said Russians Igor Girkin and Sergei Dubinsky and Ukrainian Leonid Kharchenko were responsible for transporting the BUK missile from a military base in Russia and deploying it to the launch site — even if they did not launch the missile themselves.
None of the suspects took any part in the legal proceedings or acknowledged their roles in the incident. A fourth man, Oleg Pulatov, was acquitted.
However, before international investigators suspended their work, they concluded there were “strong indications” Russian President Vladimir Putin had approved the supply of the missile that downed the plane.
Among the mourners was Evert van Zijtveld, who lost his daughter Frederique, 19, and his son Robert-Jan, 18, and his parents-in-law.
Van Zijtveld said he did not think “those responsible will serve their sentences.”
“I was happy that at least there was a trial and they can’t leave Russia... So they are not fully free,” said Driekske Bakker, 71, who lost her brother and sister-in-law.
Bakker displayed a painting she made, named MH-17. It depicts bodies falling from the sky into a sunflower field, a symbol she said of the loss felt by relatives.
The victims came from at least 10 countries, with 196 of them Dutch, 43 Malaysian and 38 Australian. Relatives read out their names at the ceremony.
Schiphol Airport shut down a nearby runway as a mark of respect and elsewhere in the Netherlands, flags were flying at half-mast.
Other countries held their own memorials.
The Australian parliament in Canberra hosted one ceremony, where family members placed flowers on a wreath, many pausing for a moment to wipe away tears.
The EU on Tuesday called upon Moscow to “accept its responsibility in this tragedy and cooperate fully in serving justice.”
Moscow has refused to extradite any of the suspects, saying it is illegal under Russian law.
In a statement, the Russian embassy in The Hague again denied Moscow’s involvement, pointing the finger instead at Kyiv.
Moscow also accused the Netherlands, Australia and other countries of being “guided by political considerations... Seeking by any means to impose on the world community their preselected version of the Boeing plane crash according to which the blame would be placed on Russia.”
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