MH17 convict Igor Girkin gets 4 years in prison in Russia for “extremism”

Igor Girkin was found guilty of extremism, and was sentenced to four years in prison by a Russian court. Girkin was previously convicted in absentia in the Netherlands, and sentenced to life in prison, for his role in the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17.

Girkin has been critical of Russian President Vladimir Putin. He believes that the armed forces have not been effective enough in Ukraine. The Moscow court found that Girkin was guilty of "public calls to engage in extremist activities."

Girkin previously served as separatist force commander in eastern Ukraine, where fighting has been ongoing since 2014. In that role, according to the Dutch court ruling, he was ultimately responsible for the MH17 disaster which resulted in 298 deaths.

MH17 foundation has mixed feelings about Girkin's conviction

Piet Ploeg finds the conviction rather bittersweet. He is the head of the MH17 Plane Crash Foundation, and has been a vocal advocate for the investigation and prosecution of those responsible for shooting down the Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur flight in 2014.

"He is now getting a prison sentence for a reason that is wrong," Ploeg explained. "I sincerely hope that Girkin is having a hard time, but being locked up for expressing an opinion is wrong."

The chair added that the Russian is still getting away with the downing of MH17 and for starting a war in Ukraine, "the real reason why he has to go to prison."

Ploeg said the Russian court conviction was a bit of a sham, but he does think that some relatives will be pleased happy with the verdict.