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| Europe |
| Names of MH17 victims read out in court as murder trial of four suspects begins |
| 2020-03-10 |
| [BETA.THEGLOBEANDMAIL] Relatives sat listening with bowed heads and eyes closed as the names of all 298 victims of a missile strike on a Malaysian airliner were read out in a Dutch court on Monday as the murder trial of four fugitive defendants began. Malaysian Airlines Flight 17 was hit by a surface-to-air missile on July 17, 2014 while flying over Ukrainian territory held by pro-Russian rebels fighting government forces. The airliner was on its way from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur. None of the accused in the disaster – three Russians and a Ukrainian – were present in the courtroom and all four are believed to be in Russia. Only one sent a defence lawyer. Judges ruled that the men had waived their rights to attend and said proceedings would continue without them. The mood in the courtroom was sombre and hushed as prosecutor Dedy Woei-a-Tsoi read out the names of those who died when MH17 crashed in eastern Ukraine on July 17, 2014. “The silence in this court during the reading of all the names of the victims makes it (MH-17 disaster) clear once again and that means a moment of silence was fitting,” Presiding Judge Hendrik Steenhuis said. |
| Posted by:Fred |