FAMILY members of the ill-fated MH17 flight are not confident the real perpetrators who shot down the plane eight years ago will be identified after the trial at the Hague, Netherlands, ended last month.

Three Russians and one Ukrainian were charged after investigators established they were linked to the shooting. The missile was fired from a rocket launcher placed on top of a truck. 

According to international media reports, the outcome of the trial would only be announced in late November. 

Ammar Syarif, son of late Malaysia Airlines flight supervisor Mohd Ghafar Abu Bakar, told The Malaysian Insight that every family who lost loved ones in the incident hopes for justice to prevail.

“However, I am not sure to what extent the truth will be revealed. I was not there to attend the court proceedings and we were only notified via email by the lawyer,” Amar said.

“What is certain, we are expecting justice even though the incident happened eight years ago.”

On July 17, 2014, flight MH17 departed from Amsterdam en route to Kuala Lumpur before it was shot down in a village near Donetsk, a region in eastern Ukraine located next to the Russian border.

The responsibility for investigation was delegated to the Dutch Safety Board (DSB) and the Dutch-led joint investigation team (JIT), which concluded that the airliner was downed by a Buk surface-to-air missile launched from the pro-Russian separatist-controlled territory in Ukraine.

According to the JIT, the Buk, originating from the 53rd Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade of the Russian Federation and transported from Russia on the day of the crash, was fired from a field in a rebel-controlled area and the launch system returned to Russia afterwards. 

Ammar’s father was among 283 passengers and 15 crew members on board the Boeing 777. 

Noraini Mohd Noor, who lost her sister, Rahimah, expressed the same concern as she is not sure who will admit to shooting down the plane – Russia, Ukraine or the separatists.

“I really don’t expect anything from the proceedings. I am certain they wouldn’t admit what they did. 

“What else can we do if people don’t want to admit it? Nothing. I can’t do anything. You also can’t do anything,” she said. 

The late Rahimah, who worked at the International Trade and Industry Ministry, was sent to Geneva and was on her way back to Malaysia for a holiday with her family at the time of the incident.

Chief negotiator Muhammad Sakri Hussin, who was responsible for bringing home the MH17 black box and voice recorder, the bodies of passengers and crew from the crash site, says the experiences are unforgettable.

“Even though it has been eight years, to this day, I still keep the assessment measures of the site before we entered the crash area, which was also a war zone at the time.

“Our group 12 entered the war zone without any firearms for personal safety apart from receiving various instructions from Ukraine, including not to negotiate with the separatist group led by Alexander Borodai at the time,” he told The Malaysian Insight.

Sakri, who retired from the National Disaster Management Agency with his last position as senior principal assistant director (operations implementation), said that until today, he is suspicious of the charges against the three individuals.

To date, the information contained in two components, namely, the black box and the MH17 voice recorder, has not been disclosed to the public, including a detailed justification of how the aircraft was shot down.

“They only use field investigators and the outcome from missiles. It’s just ‘hearsay’,” he said. 

Sakri said based on the information from “ground zero”, he suspects that Ukraine fired the missile as Donestk was under full Ukrainian control.

“Donestk (separatist groups) cannot use aircraft at all. The separatist group’s assets are the result of the separation between two countries within the territory of Ukraine. Although the separatists are assisted by Russia, that does not mean they get 100% aid,” he said.

Sakri, who has more than 40 years experience in the military, said at that time, Malaysia, which was a black box manufacturer for Boeing and Airbus, did not make its own analysis, but sent black boxes to Fanbouroge, London, and because of that, he still questions why the analysis results were not made public. 

“What I am sure of is that these court proceedings will not prove who the real perpetrators are,” he said.

Apart from Sakri, who was then working with the National Security Council, the group also included communication experts, doctors, pathologists and disaster victim identification experts, military interpreters, Malaysian Special Rescue and Disaster Team members, and army commandos. 

In 2018, a Dutch-led international criminal investigation team officially concluded that the missile came from a Russian anti-aircraft military unit.

Earlier this year, Australia and the Netherlands initiated legal proceedings against Russia at the International Civil Aviation Organisation. Bernama reported that Malaysia had agreed to join Australia and the Netherlands.

Meanwhile, the Malaysian government expressed its commitment to seek the truth, demanding justice.

Transport Minister Wee Ka Siong said those responsible should be brought to justice in free, transparent criminal proceedings, especially during prosecution in the Netherlands.

He said Malaysia also urged all countries and parties involved to cooperate fully in accordance with the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2166 (2014). 

“A comprehensive judicial process must be undertaken to hold the criminals accountable and demand justice for the victims and families involved in the MH17 tragedy.

“Finding the truth about the incident will continue to be our priority,” Wee said in a media statement. – July 17, 2022.