Dutch court convicts three over downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17

Journalists watch on a large screen the verdict session in the Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 trial at the high security court at Schiphol airport, near Amsterdam, Netherlands, Thursday, Nov. 17, 2022. The Hague District Court, sitting at a high-security courtroom at Schiphol Airport, is passing judgment on three Russians and a Ukrainian charged in the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over Ukraine and the deaths of all 298 passengers and crew on board, against a backdrop of global geopolitical upheaval caused by Russia’s full-blown invasion of Ukraine in February and the nearly nine-month war it triggered. (AP Photo/Patrick Post)

A Dutch court has convicted two Russians and a Ukrainian of the murders of 298 people who died in the 2014 downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over Ukraine.

One Russian was acquitted for lack of evidence.

Presiding Judge Hendrik Steenhuis said evidence presented by prosecutors at a trial that lasted more than two years proved that the Boeing 777 flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur was brought down by a Buk missile fired by pro-Moscow Ukrainian rebels on July 17 2014.

None of the defendants appeared for the trial that began in March 2020, and if they are convicted it is unlikely they will serve a sentence any time soon.

The prosecution had sought life sentences for all four.

Prosecutors and the suspects have two weeks to file an appeal.