Malaysian Gov't Disagrees With MH17 Crash Case Closure: Transport Ministry

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Malaysian Transport Minister Anthony Loke said Wednesday that his government did not agree with the closure of the MH17 flight crash case, noting that his country's authorities will continue to seek justice for the victims and their relatives.

"The case is officially closed. However, we understand that justice has not yet been served. We will continue to pursue this issue on various platforms, including discussing the Malaysian government's position with the Foreign Ministry," Loke told the parliament, as quoted by Malaysian news portal The Star.

The minister added that the Malaysian government had sent a total of $6 million to help relatives of the victims. Loke also urged his colleagues in the transport ministry to "fight for the rights and dignity of Malaysians affected by the unfortunate incident."

Malaysian Airlines passenger flight MH17 from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur crashed in the Donbas conflict zone on July 17, 2014. All 298 passengers, mostly Dutch citizens, and crew members on board were killed.

In 2016, the Dutch-led international Joint Investigation Team, which does not include Russia, concluded that the aircraft was shot by a Russian-made Buk missile that was brought to the Donbas area controlled by independence fighters from Russia. Moscow argued the Buk missile belonged to Ukraine and was launched from Kiev-controlled territory.

On November 17, 2022, the Hague court found two Russian citizens, Igor Girkin and Sergei Dubinsky, and one Ukrainian citizen, Leonid Kharchenko, guilty of shooting down flight MH17 and sentenced them to life imprisonment in absentia. They also have to pay 16 million euros ($16.6 million) in damages to the families of the victims. The fourth defendant, Russian national Oleg Pulatov, was acquitted of the charges. The Hague court did not directly link the use of the Buk air defense system that led to the plane crash with Moscow, but said that Russia controlled the region where the incident happened at the time.

Russia has criticized the ruling as political and biased.