Malaysia wants MH17 shooters to face criminal charges

By P Prem Kumar

KUALA LUMPUR

A day after an international team released a report concluding that Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 was downed by a Russian-made missile fired from rebel-controlled eastern Ukraine, Malaysia's transport minister stressed that the country remains resolute in calling for justice to be served.

Minister Liow Tiong Lai said Thursday that the parties named in the findings of the Dutch-led Joint Investigation Team (JIT) must take responsibility and face charges for their actions.

Malaysia remains single-minded in seeking to bring the perpetrators to justice through appropriate, effective prosecution mechanisms, he said in a statement.

The JIT’s findings confirmed an earlier technical report by the Dutch Safety Board (DSB) that the aircraft carrying 298 people was “undeniably” hit by a surface-to-air 9M38 series BUK missile in July 2014.

According to the report, the exact location of the launch site was determined to be an agricultural field near the eastern Ukrainian city of Pervomaiskiy, which was under the control of pro-Moscow rebels at the time of the tragedy.

It said the missile launcher was brought into Ukraine from Russia and later taken back to Russia.

"Armed with both the JIT and DSB reports, Malaysia is ever more resolute to seek justice," Liow stressed Thursday.

He said while the report could not determine the perpetrators, the JIT had nonetheless identified around 100 individuals that could be linked to the downing of MH17.

The Kuala Lumpur-bound flight MH17 from Amsterdam was shot down in eastern Ukraine on July 17, 2014, killing all 298 passenger and crew on board.

Of the causalities from MH17, 193 were nationals of the Netherlands, 43 of Malaysia and 27 of Australia.

Despite international investigators narrowing down a list of potential suspects to Russia, Ukraine and a pro-Moscow rebel group, all parties have denied involvement.

Meanwhile, the United States has also reaffirmed its commitment to continue working with the JIT to bring the perpetrators to justice.

In a statement released Thursday by the U.S. Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, U.S. Department of State spokesman John Kirby described the JIT announcement as “another step towards bringing to justice those responsible for this outrageous attack”.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, who was visiting Berlin, reiterated after the report’s release Wednesday that Malaysia remains committed to bringing those responsible for the downing of MH17 to justice and there was “no two ways about it”.