MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The purpose of the regular leaks of information on the MH17 crash investigation in Western media is to discredit the Russian government, prominent international criminal lawyer from Canada Christopher Black told Sputnik on Friday.
"They want to use it [leaks] as propaganda tool to hit Russia on the head and try to discredit the Russian government. And they are going to keep doing it, and that is why they tried to set up this tribunal," Black said.
The lawyer expressed astonishment at the initiative to set up an international tribunal to prosecute those responsible for the MH17 crash before the report on the crash has been finished.
The Dutch Safety Board, which is investigating the crash, published a preliminary report last year that stated that the plane broke apart in midair after being hit by numerous high-energy objects. Its final report is due in October.
On July 29, Russia vetoed a UN Security Council resolution, submitted by Malaysia, to create a tribunal. Russia has repeatedly stressed that the initiative to establish a tribunal is premature and counterproductive, insisting that it is first necessary to wait for the Dutch Safety Board to release their final report into the crash.
"The Dutch investigators who seek to have some integrity… are not allowed to say what they are finding," Black said, adding that somebody might control the investigative group.
Black said beliefs regarding Russia's involvement in shooting down the plane were "very dangerous" and unrealistic.
