Russian suspect in downing of Malaysia Airlines MH17 denies involvement

Defendant Oleg Pulatov, one of four suspects on trial despite being at large, did not know how and why the plane was downed, his lawyer said

The other three are being tried in absentia over the 2014 shooting down of the plane over eastern Ukraine

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Judge Hendrik Steenhuis (centre) attends the hearing in the trial of suspects charged with shooting down Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, in the high-security courtroom of the Schiphol Judicial Complex in The Netherlands. Photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 8:40pm, 28 Sep 2020Updated: 8:41pm, 28 Sep 2020

One of four suspects on trial for the 2014 downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 has denied any involvement with firing or supplying the missile allegedly used in its destruction, a lawyer said in court on Monday.

MH17 was flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur when it was shot down by a missile fired from territory held by pro-Russian rebels during fighting in eastern Ukraine, international investigators say.

All 298 people on board were killed.

After an investigation lasting nearly six years, four defendants went on trial in March. The men are all still at large and three are being tried in absentia. One defendant, Oleg Pulatov, has instructed a lawyer to defend him.

Under Dutch law, Pulatov’s trial is not considered to take place in absentia because he has chosen to be represented by counsel.

“He did not contribute and he was not involved. What’s more, he did not and does not have any knowledge of how and why MH17 was downed,” Pulatov’s lawyer, Sabine ten Doesschate, told The Hague District Court sitting in a high-security courtroom near Schiphol airport.