MH17: Dutch prosecutors won't appeal against acquittal of Oleg Pulatov

The Public Prosecution Service (OM) decided not to file an appeal against the acquittal of Oleg Pulatov, who was suspected in the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, prosecutors said. Three other defendants were convicted of downing the flight, and sentenced to life in prison. "The OM is very satisfied that the verdict has brought clarity to the next of kin about the actual circumstances regarding the downing of flight MH17 on 17 July 2014," the OM wrote. On that date, a Malaysia Airlines passenger jet was shot down over eastern Ukraine, killing nearly 300 people.

"An appeal would mean a great burden for the relatives, because they would then remain in doubt about the outcome of the criminal case for a longer period," the OM said about the decision. According to the Public Prosecution Service, the verdicts pronounced two weeks ago contain "clear considerations" about the evidence in the criminal case. The OM said this evidence can also be used in "parallel (civil) proceedings" initiated in response to the downing of MH17. The Public Prosecution Service also believes that the judges "for the most part followed the public prosecutors in terms of both evidence and punishment".

When the verdict was read on Thursday, 17 November, the court saw "an abundance of evidence" to draw the conclusion that MH17 was shot down with a Buk missile from an agricultural field in eastern Ukraine in the summer of 2014. Among the evidence, the court cited photos of a smoke trail, satellite data of the pasture with apparent traces of fire, transmission tower data and the statements from an anonymous witness.

The plane crash killed 298 people, including 193 Dutch citizens. Pulatov was acquitted on all charges, while the three other suspects on trial were sentenced to life imprisonment by the court for their involvement in the plane crash. Prosecutors had demanded life in prison against all four suspects.

Rebel leader Igor Girkin (51), his right-hand man Sergey Dubinsky (60) and garrison commander Leonid Chartchenko (50) were given the longest possible sentence for their involvement in the downing of the flight. According to the court, it has been proven that the trio played a role in either obtaining or getting rid of the Buk-TELAR missile system with which the aircraft was shot down.

The court said there was "no indication" that Pulatov was involved in obtaining the missile system, that he could have prevented its use, nor that he was involved in sending the missile system to another location after the incident. The Russian man was the only one of the four who was represented in court by lawyers. He has denied any involvement from the start and said the investigation against him was questionable.

According to the court, the downing of MH17 was probably a mistake. The judges concluded that the perpetrators likely wanted to shoot down a military aircraft.