MH17: 2 prosecution options identified in effort to seek justice

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia and member countries of the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) are continuing discussions on two prosecution options in seeking justice in the shooting down of Malaysia Airlines’ MH17 in eastern Ukraine in 2014.

Deputy Transport Minister Datuk Ab Aziz Kaprawi said the options were prosecution at the national level by one of the member nations in the JIT and prosecution at an international tribunal specially set up by the JIT members.

“However, between the two options, the decision will depend on the findings of the criminal investigation (into the air crash),” he said at the Dewan Rakyat sitting here yesterday.

Ab Aziz was replying to a question from Datuk Johari Abdul (PKR-Sungai Petani) on the method taken by the government in seeking justice in the MH17 case.

MH17 was shot down while flying at 30,000 feet over the volatile area of eastern Ukraine near the Russian border on July 17, 2014, killing all 298 passengers and crew onboard, including 44 Malaysians.

Ab Aziz said so far, only the

However, between the two options, the decision will depend on the findings of the criminal investigation (into the air crash). Datuk Ab Aziz Kaprawi, deputy transport minister

Dutch government had taken action for prosecution at the national level.

He said the results of the investigation for the two prosecution options were important to determine the place of residence and nationality of the suspected perpetrators.

“Whatever the prosecution and trial options determined later, the ability to commence prosecution against any perpetrator is subject to having sufficient evidence and acceptable to the court.”

Ab Aziz said the interim report on the criminal investigation into the MH17 crash, issued by the JIT on Sept 28, 2016 had not identified the party responsible for the shooting down of the aircraft.

“Currently, the JIT investigation to determine the perpetrators of the crime is ongoing and any action to be taken will only be decided after the investigation on the plane crash is completed, and after obtaining strong evidence to bring the perpetrators to justice,” he said.

To Johari’s supplementary question on the form of assistance given to the next of kin of the MH17 crash victims, Ab Aziz said the government and Malaysia Airlines were always commmitted to helping them and were concerned about the victims’ families.

On Sept 28, the group of international investigators led by the Dutch concluded that the aircraft was shot at by a Buk missile brought from Russia to Ukraine.

Wilbert Paulissen, head of the Dutch national detective force, had said that the Buk missile was taken back to Russia after MH17 was shot down, killing all the passengers and crew on board. — Bernama