Angry families of MH17 victims accuse Russia of lying

AMSTERDAM, Sept. 6 (Reuters) – Relatives of the 298 victims of Malaysian Airlines Flight 17 on Monday accused Russia of lying about its alleged role in the wreckage of the plane as they began testifying at trial Dutchman for murder of four suspects.

International investigators concluded that the passenger plane was shot down over eastern Ukraine with a missile fired by pro-Russian rebels. Moscow denies all responsibility.

“They lie, we know they lie and they know we know they lie,” Ria van der Steen, who lost her father and stepmother during the flight, was quoted as saying by the Soviet dissident writer. Alexander Solzhenitsyn.

The Dutchwoman was the first of dozens of relatives to have the opportunity to speak or make written statements over the next three weeks.

MH17 was flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur when it was hit by what international investigators and prosecutors say was a Russian surface-to-air missile that originated at a Russian base just across the Ukrainian border. Read more.

Van der Steen made the statements about the lie in Russian, explaining that he did so “for the benefit of those who listen today in the name of the Russian regime.”

“I want to know where the responsibility lies,” he said, adding that “lying and falsehoods are a familiar tactic in this cat-and-mouse game through which we aspire to discover the truth.”

Australian Vanessa Rizk also pointed to Russian President Vladimir Putin and his government as part of the “political nightmare” that sparked the crash.

“I still can’t understand that our family is caught in a frustrating and deadly political crisis,” he told Judges Rizk, who lost his parents in the crash when he was 22 years old. He stressed that his parents had no role in any of the policies that led to his death.

Russia, which claims it has not funded or supported rebels fighting Ukrainian government troops, has refused to extradite the suspects.

Three Russians and a Ukrainian citizen, all suspected of holding key roles in the separatist forces, are being prosecuted for murder.

After years of gathering evidence, a team of international investigators concluded in May 2018 that the launcher used to fire the missile belonged to Russia’s 53rd anti-aircraft missile brigade.

The fugitive suspects have been on trial for a year and a half. Only one sent lawyers to represent him, so the case is not considered to be tried entirely in absentia under Dutch law.

Judges said Monday they expected to issue a verdict in late 2022.

Reports by Stephanie van den Berg; Edited by William Maclean

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