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WORLD NEWS Saturday 11 June 2022
Russian suspect appeals for acquittal at Dutch MH17 trial

By MIKE CORDER the three Russians Pulatov,
Associated Press Igor Girkin and Sergey Du-
THE HAGUE, Netherlands binskiy along with Ukrainian
(AP) — A Russian suspect in Leonid Kharchenko were
the 2014 downing of Malay- involved in the downing us-
sia Airlines flight MH17 over ing a Buk missile launcher
eastern Ukraine appealed trucked into Ukraine from
Friday in a video statement a Russian military base and
to a Dutch court to be de- then returned to the base.
clared innocent, as judges Russia denies any involve-
adjourned the long-running ment in downing the jet.
trial of three Russians and a “What matters to me is that
Ukrainian separatist rebel the truth is revealed. It’s
and began months of de- important for me that my
liberations. country is not blamed for
“I hope and expect a just this tragedy,” Pulatov said
and legally substantiated in his video message.
judgment,” Oleg Pulatov Pulatov’s lawyers had their
told the panel of judges. final say in the trial this
“Please acquit me.” week, accusing prosecu-
He spoke in a recorded tors of tunnel vision by fo-
video message because cusing solely on their theory
he along with his the three that separatist rebels shot
other suspects has not sur- down MH17, not giving
rendered to the court to Presiding judge Hendrik Steenhuis, right, and other trial judges and lawyers view the reconstructed the Russian a fair trial and
face trial. wreckage of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17, at the Gilze-Rijen military airbase, southern Netherlands, failing to prove their case
Prosecutors say Pulatov Wednesday, May 26, 2021. Associated Press against him.
was deputy head of the If he is convicted on charg-
intelligence service of the Presiding Judge Hendrik and legal arguments end- emotional victim impact es including involvement in
self-proclaimed Donetsk Steenhuis said the earliest ed Friday with Ukraine en- statements by dozens of the murder of all 298 pas-
People’s Republic in east- date the court could deliv- gulfed in a devastating war relatives of those killed. sengers and crew, Pula-
ern Ukraine when the Boe- er verdicts in the complex to repel Russia’s Feb. 24 in- On the last scheduled day tov faces a maximum sen-
ing 777 flying from Amster- case is Nov. 17. vasion. of legal pleadings before tence of life imprisonment,
dam to Kuala Lumpur was The trial began on March 9, The marathon court case verdicts, Pulatov’s Dutch although it is very unlikely
shot down by a Buk missile 2020, as the separatist con- opened with prosecutors defense lawyers repeated he would ever serve any
on July 17, 2014, killing all flict in eastern Ukraine that solemnly reading out the their assertions that their cli- prison time because Russia
298 passengers and crew. formed the backdrop of names of all 298 people ent has not had a fair trial will not extradite him.
As 67 days of trial hearings the downing of the passen- who died when the pas- and is innocent. Pulatov was the only one of
spread over more than ger jet was still simmering. senger jet was blown out of The trial featured evidence the suspects who put up a
two years drew to a close, The hearing of evidence the sky. Judges also heard that prosecutors say proves defense at trial. q
Malaysia agrees to abolish mandatory death penalty

Associated Press of all parties are protected 2019, saying that the death
KUALA LUMPUR, Malay- and guaranteed, thus re- penalty would no longer
sia (AP) — Malaysia has flecting the transparency be mandatory for selected
agreed to abolish the of the country’s leadership offenses.
mandatory death penalty in improving the dynamic The ADPAN said the man-
and allow judges to set al- criminal justice system,” the datory death penalty “de-
ternative punishments for minister said. prives judges of the discre-
a range of offenses, the More than 1,300 people tion to sentence based on
country’s law minister said are on death row in Malay- the situation of each indi-
Friday. sia, with most cases involv- vidual offender ... (which)
The government will study ing drug trafficking. has resulted in absurd sen-
other proposed punish- The death penalty in Ma- tences that have led to
ments for 11 offenses that laysia mandates hanging public outcries.”
currently trigger a manda- as punishment for a range Rights groups welcomed
tory death sentence and of crimes, including mur- Friday’s announcement
also for the more than 20 der, drug trafficking, trea- but said the agreement The Petronas Twin Towers, center, stand at sunset in downtown
offenses that carry a po- son, kidnapping and acts was only a starting point. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2020.
tential death sentence at of terror. “Before everyone starts Associated Press
the court’s discretion, Wan Foreigners account for cheering, we need to see
Junadi Tuanku Jaafar said 526 of the 1,355 people Malaysia pass the actual the deputy Asia director at alty.
in a statement. on death row in the coun- legislative amendments to Human Rights Watch. “The government should
Amendments to the law try, according to the Anti- put this pledge into effect Katrina Jorene Maliamauv, table the necessary
would still need to be ta- Death Penalty Asia Net- because we have been Amnesty International Ma- amendments in Parliament
bled and passed in Parlia- work. down this road before, laysia’s executive director, without delay and estab-
ment before they would In 2018, Malaysia said it with successive Malaysian said the move was a step lish a full review of all cases
take effect. would abolish the death governments promising in the right direction but involving the mandatory
“The decision on this mat- penalty for all crimes and much on human rights but urged the country to go death penalty with a view
ter shows the government’s halt all pending execu- ultimately delivering very further and work toward full to commuting these sen-
priority to ensure the rights tions. But it backtracked in little,” said Phil Robertson, abolition of the death pen- tences,” Maliamauv said.q