Life sentences for two Russians and a Ukrainian for the downing of MH17

The Dutch judiciary on Thursday sentenced two Russians and a Ukrainian to life in prison for the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 "with a BUK missile from an agricultural field" in eastern Ukraine on 17 July 2014, although the trial was held in absentia and none of the defendants are in custody.  

Russians Igor "Strelkov" Girkin and Sergey Dubinsky, and Ukrainian Leonid Kharchenko were found "guilty" of the downing of the plane and the "murder" of all 298 passengers on board MH17, according to the verdict read out by presiding judge Hendrik Steenhuis in front of hundreds of relatives of victims of the tragedy.  

Girkin and Dubinsky had "high-level and coordinating roles in the operation" that led to the downing of MH17, while Kharchenko was "directly involved" in the downing, and all three are now liable for compensation to be paid to the victims' families for damages.  

The court regretted that it had no information to point to who ordered the missile launcher or who gave the order to launch the missile against flight MH17, but warned that a BUK missile cannot be launched "by mistake", but that there must be prior considerations, so "the missile was fired deliberately" and the defendants "were clear about the consequences".  

The court did find convincing the theory that the defendants believed that the target was a military plane, not a passenger plane, but since they did not have the immunity granted to combatants in a war, because Russia did not admit its control over the area, and the defendants did not claim to be members of the Russian army, then they were not authorised to shoot down a military plane either.  

The court found it proven that the plane was "shot down by a BUK missile from an agricultural field", ruling out scenarios such as an accident, and found that Russia was involved in "armed action" in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR).  

Former intelligence colonel Girkin, 51, was in charge of the defence portfolio in the area where pro-Russian rebels were active and had direct contact with Moscow, and the court found that he was in command of the battlefield on the day the plane was shot down, and kept the Kremlin informed.  

Girkin worked with Dubinsky, 60, who was head of intelligence in the same region, maintained regular contact with Russia, and the BUK was transported into the Ukrainian agricultural countryside and returned to Russian territory under his authority. He played a "guiding" role, but left the tasks to his subordinates, the court concluded.  

Kharchenko, 50, is the only Ukrainian of the three and at the time of the tragedy was commander of a pro-Russian rebel fighting group in the area, reporting to Dubinsky. He escorted and supervised the missile launcher, and his role was "central" to the downing of the plane, making him a co-perpetrator of the murder and shoot-down charges.  

Oleg Pulatov, 56, was the only one of the four who was not tried in "absentia", although he never appeared in court, only sending a team of lawyers for his defence.  

He was a member of a special Russian intelligence unit and in July 2014 acted as deputy head of the rebels' intelligence service in Donetsk. The court found that Pulatov was not present when the missile was fired, and did not influence the plan, so he was acquitted as his criminal responsibility for the tragedy could not be established.