Three convicted in 2014 downing of Malaysian jet

SCHIPHOL, NETHERLANDS >> A Dutch court on Thursday convicted three men of murder for their role in shooting down a Malaysia Airlines passenger jet with a Russian surface-toair missile, killing all 298 people aboard the aircraft as it flew over a separatist-controlled region of eastern Ukraine in 2014.

The convictions were seen as directing the blame for the jet’s downing at the government of Russian President Vladimir Putin, even though the Kremlin has denied any connection to it.

The trial, held in a courtroom near the Amsterdam airport from where Flight MH17 took off for Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, put the Kremlin’s involvement in the separatist conflict in eastern Ukraine at the heart of the case.