World News | Dutch prosecutors won’t appeal sole acquittal in MH17 trial

THE HAGUE, Dec. 2 (AP) – The Dutch prosecutor’s office said Thursday it will not appeal the acquittal of a man accused of shooting down a Malaysia Airlines airliner over eastern Ukraine in 2014, The reason is that it fears that its pressure will be placed on the families of the 298 people killed in the tragedy.

Earlier this month, a Dutch court convicted in absentia three other men of supplying Russian surface-to-air missiles that were used to bring down Flight 17, killing everyone on board the Boeing 777. Oleg Pulatov, a Russian national who was the only suspect represented by a defense lawyer, was acquitted due to insufficient evidence.

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“The appeal is a great burden for the next of kin, as they remain uncertain about the outcome of the criminal case,” the Dutch prosecutor’s office said in a statement.

All are believed to be in Russia, which does not extradite its nationals. Through his lawyer, Platov insisted he was not involved in the tragedy. A former officer in Russia’s military intelligence service, he is considered the lowest-ranking member of the group.

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Russians Igor Girkin and Sergey Dubinskiy and Ukrainian separatist Leonid Kharchenko were sentenced to life in prison for coordinating the delivery of a Buk missile system from a Russian military base to a Ukrainian separatist-held area and returning after the airliner was shot down.

The plane, en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, exploded and crashed in mid-air, leaving wreckage and bodies strewn across farmland. Restoration remained elusive due to intense conflict in eastern Ukraine at the time.

Families of many of the victims expressed satisfaction with the ruling holding the Kremlin responsible for the disaster. Moscow denied any involvement in the crash, but the verdict clearly found that the convicted defendants were backed by Russia.

Prosecutors said they would continue efforts to arrest Gilkin, Dubinsky and Khachenko. “No offender should be allowed to go unpunished,” the office said in a statement. (Associated Press)

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