A Dutch court has sentenced three people to life imprisonment more than eight years after the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17. But the criminal court's decision has a catch: the hearing was held in the absence of the accused, because it is not known where they are at the moment.

It is also entirely uncertain whether those sentenced to life imprisonment in the Netherlands will ever go to prison. The probability that Russia will provide administrative assistance or even extradite it is very low. Therefore, the verdict announced on Thursday is initially of a more symbolic nature. The fourth accused was acquitted – also in absentia.

On July 17, 2014, flight MH17 was shot down over eastern Ukraine. About 298 people lost their lives as a result. Since there were an above-average number of Dutch citizens on board and the machine took off from Amsterdam-Schiphol, the Dutch judiciary took over the prosecution.

Three out of four defendants ignored the process

The court ruled that Russian citizens Igor Girkin and Sergey Dubinsky and the Ukrainian were to blame for the downing. On the other hand, the Russian Oleg Pulatow was acquitted. As already mentioned: The four defendants have never personally taken part in the proceedings, which have been ongoing since March 2020. At least Pulatow was represented by a lawyer, but the other three people completely ignored the procedure.

At the time of the shooting down, the defendants held high positions with the pro-Russian separatists in Osukraine. Former intelligence officer Girkin acted as commander in Donbass. His "right hand man", Dubinski, was a former officer in the Russian Federation Army. Chartschenko is said to have joined the separatists and commanded a unit.

The court finds that the four defendants were instrumental in bringing the Buk missile system used for the downing from Russia to eastern Ukraine. It is also believed that the area was de facto under Russian control at that time. Investigations had shown that it was the property of the army of the Russian Federation. After MH17 was shot down, it was brought back to Russia.

Kremlin denies any responsibility

However, it is not clear who actually pressed the launch button. It could not be proven that the four defendants fired the rocket themselves. However, the court came to the conclusion that the defendants accepted that a passenger plane could also be shot down. The deed was properly celebrated at the time. For example, rebels posed with parts of the wreck.

The Kremlin has never acknowledged the accident investigation, which attributes significant complicity to the Russian Federation in the downing. They deny any responsibility and claim that Ukraine is to blame. International investigations and the court proceedings in the Netherlands cannot support Moscow's account at all.