Latvia urges Russia to open up over MH17 atrocity

Take note – story published 4 years ago

Latvia's Foreign Ministry on July 17 joined the chorus of international voices calling for Russia to release full details of the events that led to the shooting down of a civilian airliner over Ukraine.

A statement issued by the ministry said:

On 17 July 2019, it is five years since the tragic shooting down of Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17, which resulted in deaths of all passengers and crew. For those who lost their loved ones, this has been a time of relentless mourning. The global community is looking forward to bringing the perpetrators to trial.

Latvia reiterates its support for the work of the Joint Investigation Team and welcomes the achieved progress. A full investigation and a fair trial are needed to bring the perpetrators in shooting down the airplane flight MH17 to justice.

In view of the evidence collected by the Joint Investigation Team, we call on the Russian Federation to cooperate fully with the investigation so that the perpetrators can face a fair trial.

In June the Public Prosecution Service of the Netherlands announced it would prosecute four suspects for bringing down Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 on the 17th of July 2014 killing all 298 passengers and crew. The decision was made on the basis of the investigation conducted by the Joint Investigation Team (JIT), consisting of law enforcement agencies from Australia, Belgium, Malaysia, Ukraine and the Netherlands.

The Public Prosecution Service will prosecute the following people:

  • Igor Vsevolodovich GIRKIN (48)
  • Sergey Nikolayevich DUBINSKIY (56)
  • Oleg Yuldashevich PULATOV (52)
  • Leonid Volodymyrovych KHARCHENKO (47)

The Public Prosecution Service alleges the four cooperated to obtain and deploy a Russian military BUK missile system at the firing location with the aim of shooting down an aircraft. For that reason they can be held jointly accountable for downing flight MH17.

Further information about the investigation and trial is available at the website of the JIT.

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