Russian ambassador summoned to Dutch foreign ministry over court's decision

Russian Ambassador to the Netherlands Alexander Shulgin has been summoned to the Dutch Foreign Ministry due to Moscow's reaction to the verdict of The Hague District Court related to the case about the downed Malaysian Boeing-777.

The Dutch leadership is dissatisfied with the reaction of the Russian side to the court's decision, Interfax reports, citing Dutch Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra.

The Hague District Court stated on November 17 that an MH17 passenger plane flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur was shot down by a Russian Buk missile launched from DPR (Donetsk People’s Republic) controlled by Russia on July 17, 2014.

The court found Russian citizens Igor Girkin (Strelkov), Sergey Dubinsky, and Ukrainian citizen Leonid Kharchenko guilty and sentenced them in absentia to life imprisonment. They also must pay compensation to the families of the victims.

Russian citizen Oleg Pulatov was acquitted by the court as his involvement was not proven. None of the defendants attended the trial, Pulatov's lawyers participated in the trial, and he himself sent video evidence.

Later, the Russian Foreign Ministry said that the trial "was based on a political order to support the version promoted by The Hague and its associates in the Joint Investigation Group about Russia's involvement in the tragedy".

The ministry noted that the court ignored the documents provided by the Russian side, but used the testimony of anonymous witnesses.

“We deeply regret that The Hague District Court has neglected the principles of impartial justice in favour of the current political situation, thereby causing a big reputational blow to the entire Dutch judicial system,” the ministry said.

The Kremlin regretted that Russian investigators were not allowed to participate in the investigation process.