Court will examine MH17 wreckage in Gilze-Rijen

Judges in the MH17 trial will look at the wreckage of the disaster aircraft reconstructed in Gilze-Rijen on 26 May. According to court chairman Hendrik Steenhuis, the court itself wants to get a picture of the damage caused by the downing.

At the request of the court, other wreckage pieces have been prepared that are not part of the reconstruction, but which, as the court said earlier, “do appear to be part of the discussion about the firing area”. This concerns, for example, the left wing and the tailpiece.

Lawyer Ten Doesschate, who is defending one of the suspects in these proceedings, argued this week that it makes no sense to visit these wreckage pieces without specific expertise. The defense believes that wreckage that is currently in storage should be included in this inspection. “In order to get a good picture of the damage to the plane and to be able to draw conclusions about the reason for the crash and about the location from which it was fired, we must be able to see everything,” said the defense.

The court decided this afternoon that the Public Prosecution Service and the defense may say which parts of the reconstruction they want to bring to the attention of the court.

Right for murder

The reconstruction was made by the Dutch Safety Board on the basis of advice from forensic experts. The OVV previously established that flight MH17 over Ukraine was downed by a Buk missile. In the trial, four suspects are on trial for the murder of all passengers and crew. The substantive treatment of the trial is expected to start in June.

The defense also wants to be investigated the wiretaps which were published by Nieuwsuur last Sunday. The OM does not think that is necessary. The court will make a decision on this next week. The court will also decide next week whether the claims for damages submitted by the next of kin will be handled during this lawsuit.

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