Dutch Court Says Request To Ask US For Satellite Images Of MH17 Crash Site Valid

The Dutch court hearing the MH17 case has ruled that the defense's request to once again ask the United States for classified satellite data of the plane's crash site in eastern Ukraine is justified, Presiding Judge Hendrik Steenhuis said on Friday

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 03rd July, 2020) The Dutch court hearing the MH17 case has ruled that the defense's request to once again ask the United States for classified satellite data of the plane's crash site in eastern Ukraine is justified, Presiding Judge Hendrik Steenhuis said on Friday.

"The interest in viewing satellite images and bringing them to the case is obvious. The court acknowledges that since the fall of 2016 the prosecutor's office has not made any attempts to verify whether these images can be made public in the framework of the criminal process. A repeated request would be justified," Steenhuis said.

Earlier this month, the defense has made a request to ask the US for satellite data that allegedly shows that a missile was launched at the Malaysian Boeing in 2014.

Prosecutor Theis Berger rejected the request.

Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 crashed on July 17, 2014, in eastern Ukraine on its way to Kuala Lumpur from Amsterdam. All 298 people aboard died. The prosecution believes that the plane was downed by a Russian missile launched from Ukraine's breakaway east. Russia, which conducted its own investigation, said it had given the Dutch team evidence, such as radar data, proving the plane was shot down by a Ukrainian Buk missile. Dutch prosecutor Ward Ferdinandusse said the Russian evidence had been taken into account during the investigation.