Has justice been served in the MH17 trial? | MH17

From: Inside Story

Dutch court convicts three men for their role in shooting down of Malaysia Airlines flight over eastern Ukraine in 2014.

It’s been eight years since 298 people died when Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 was shot down over eastern Ukraine.

A court in the Netherlands has convicted two Russian intelligence officers and a Ukrainian, pro-Russian separatist leader of murder in absentia.

They’ve been sentenced to life in prison and ordered to pay $16m in compensation.

Judges found the missile that shot down the jet was Russian-made, came from Russia and was launched by Russian-controlled rebels.

However, none of the men appeared in court, and it’s unclear whether they’ll ever serve their sentences.

So has justice been served? And could the case set a precedent for legal action over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine?

Presenter: Folly Bah Thibault

Guests:

Thomas Schansman – Parent of a passenger killed on flight MH17

Marieke de Hoon – Assistant Professor of international criminal law at the University of Amsterdam

Samuel Ramani – Associate Fellow at the Royal United Services Institute