The Dutch-led probe said it was going to prosecute Russian nationals Igor Girkin, Sergey Dubinskiy and Oleg Pulatov as well as Ukrainian Leonid Kharchenko over the downing of the Malaysia Airlines plane
Chief Prosecutor with the National Prosecutor's Office Fred Westerbeke at a press conference of the Jt Investigation Team on the case. Pic/AFP
Nieuwegein: International investigators said Wednesday they were issuing arrest warrants for three Russians and one Ukrainian suspect over the downing of flight MH17 in July 2014. The Dutch-led probe said it was going to prosecute Russian nationals Igor Girkin, Sergey Dubinskiy and Oleg Pulatov as well as Ukrainian Leonid Kharchenko over the downing of the Malaysia Airlines plane.
ADVERTISEMENT
"Today we will send out international arrest warrants for the first suspects that we will prosecute. They will also be placed on national and international wanted lists," Wilbert Paulissen, chief constable of the Netherlands National Police, told a press conference. Dutch prosecutor Fred Westerbeke said they were the "four who will be held accountable for bringing the deadly weapon, the BUK Telar, into eastern Ukraine".
The same investigation team said in May 2018 that the BUK anti-aircraft missile which hit the Boeing 777 had originated from the 53rd Russian military brigade based in Russia's southwestern city of Kursk. Relatives of the victims earlier said they had been told the trial of the four men would begin in the Netherlands in March 2020. However the suspects are likely to be tried in absentia as Russia does not allow its nationals to be sent abroad for prosecution, while investigators said Kharchenko's whereabouts were currently unknown.
Top five news stories of the day
Drunken goons thrash Alt Balaji's film crew, Mumbai cops 'extort Rs 50,000'
Four drunk goons allegedly assaulted the crew of Alt Balaji's upcoming show Fixxer on Ghodbunder Road on Wednesday. The cast — Mahie Gill, Tigmanshu Dhulia, Shabbir Ahluwalia and Karishma Sharma — escaped, but director of photography Santosh Thundiyil required six stitches to his head, while director Soham Shah was beaten so badly he had convulsions. (Read full story)
Mumbai: Forensic lab returns Rajesh Maru's fingers which were stuck in MRI machine
The family of Rajesh Maru, who died in a freak accident in the MRI room of Nair Hospital in January 2018, has received his fingers that were stuck in the machine for a few days and later kept at Kalina Forensic Library for almost 18 months. The 32-year-old died after being sucked into the MRI machine while he was helping an ailing relative. (Read full story)
Mumbai Crime: Jilted lover burns girl's father's bike in Vasai
The Vasai Manikpur police on Wednesday arrested a 22-year-old for allegedly setting three bikes on fire. The bikes were parked near Krishna Township in Vasai East when the incident, recorded in a CCTV camera nearby, took place. The video footage shows a man, wearing a windcheater and shorts, walking into the residential complex and setting one bike, parked between two others, on fire by removing the petrol tube of the bike. He fled the spot immediately after. (Read full story)
Mumbai Rains: No need to worry, water reserve stock will last till July 31, says BMC
There will not be additional water cut in the city as reserve stock has enough water to last till July 31, civic officials have said. The assurance comes even as water level in the lakes are depleting due to the delay in monsoon arrival in the state. (Read full story)
Mumbai: Prepare to cough up Rs 10,000 fine for illegal parking from July 7
Is the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) looking at making parking an additional source of revenue or is it just aiming at decongesting roads by putting an end to the illegal parking menace? Whatever it might be, from July 7 the civic body doesn't want vehicles parked on roads. After increasing parking charges, it now plans to identify roads in a 1-km radius of public parking lots and mark them as no-parking zones. People found parking in these areas would be fined anything between Rs 1,000 and Rs 10,000 and in case of a repeat offence, vehicles would be towed away. No-parking boards would also be put up on arterial roads. (Read full story)
Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates
Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
