Netherlands to send requests to Russia, Ukraine demanding questioning of MH17 crash suspects
The Netherlands will send requests to Russia and Ukraine demanding the questioning of Igor Girkin, Sergei Dubinsky, Oleg Pulatov, and Leonid Kharchenko, who are suspects in the downing of the MH17 over Donbas in 2014, Chief Prosecutor with the Dutch National Prosecutors Office Fred Westerbeke said.
The Netherlands will ask Russia to hand over these suspects, will demand their questioning, and there will also be a formal request to Ukraine to question a Ukrainian suspect, Westerbeke told a press conference in Utrecht, the Netherlands, on Wednesday.
The Netherlands is not requesting extradition as it is prohibited by the Constitutions of Russia and Ukraine, but it again encourages Russia to cooperate, he said.
Westerbeke additionally said the four people involved in the MH17 crash did not fire the shots at the plane themselves but organized the delivery of weapons and are therefore considered suspects.
"These four suspects were involved in the conflict as of July 2014. Their purpose was to take positions in eastern Ukraine. Air defense weapons were used. The four are suspected of cooperation in June 2014, which led to the downing of the commercial plane. None of them pressed the button, but they closely cooperated for the purpose of delivering weapons and therefore they can be considered suspects in the MH17 downing," he said.
Westerbeke said that, under the Dutch criminal legislation, a person is guilty even if he was not present when the crime was committed, but was involved in it.
"Therefore, the four suspects will be prosecuted for the plane crash and involvement in the death of the passengers under Article 162 of the Dutch Criminal Code," he said.
The military conflict in Donbas will be taken into account when making a decision on these individuals' prosecution, Westerbeke said.
"There is a version that they wanted to shoot down a military plane, not a commercial one. Even if that was the plan, we will still prosecute them for downing the MH17. What they wanted to do and what they actually did will be determined by court," he said.
