Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Reuters
Reuters
Politics
By Lewis Jackson

Australia welcomes Dutch court conviction of three for murder over MH17

FILE PHOTO: Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott (2nd L) and his wife Margaret react with relatives of the Australian victims of Malaysia Airlines jet MH17 during a ceremony for the unveiling of a memorial outside Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, July 17, 2015. REUTERS/David Gray

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Friday welcomed a Dutch court conviction of three men over the downing of flight MH17 over Ukraine in 2014.

Dutch judges handed down on Thursday life sentences in absentia to two Russian men and a Ukrainian man for their role in the shooting down of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over Ukraine, killing all 298 passengers and crew, including 38 Australians.

FILE PHOTO: A relative of an Australian victim of Malaysia Airlines jet MH17 touches a memorial that was unveiled outside Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, July 17, 2015. REUTERS/David Gray

"We welcome The Hague District Court finding of three men being guilty of murder over the downing of MH17," Albanese told a news conference on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Bangkok.

"We've gone through this legal and court processes and we call upon Russia to hand over for justice the people who are involved in this and who've been found to be guilty in absentia."

The Malaysian airliner departed from Amsterdam and was bound for Kuala Lumpur when it was shot down over eastern Ukraine Ukraine on July 17, 2014, as fighting raged between pro-Russian separatists and Ukrainian forces.

The ruling came as a relief to victims' relatives, more than 200 of whom attended the court in The Hague person, wiping away tears as the judgement was read.

(Reporting by Lewis Jackson; Editing by Robert Birsel)

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.