The Netherlands intends to summon the Russian ambassador - he must give an explanation regarding Moscow's statement that the trial in the MH17 case was "impartial".
This was reported by Het Parool.
On Thursday, the court sentenced two former agents of the Russian special services to life imprisonment. Together with a Ukrainian pro-Russian militant, they are considered responsible for the intentional downing of the MH17 plane.
In response to the verdict, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia stated that it regrets that the court "neglected the principles of impartiality in the MH17 case." Russians also call the decision politically motivated. Russia has no intention of extraditing citizens convicted in absentia.
According to Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra, such a reaction is "absolutely reprehensible and has turned the world upside down."
On Friday afternoon after a meeting of the Council of Ministers, Hoekstra said that Russia was speaking about the Dutch legal system in an "incorrect and obscene manner". According to him, it is Russia that is currently violating all principles of legality and international law.
According to Hoekstra, it is very important that the Netherlands react, although he does not know if other countries will also summon the Russian ambassador. "We must not let it go by itself. We must also show our closest relatives that we adhere to the principle of trias politica (separation of state power. - Ed.)," said the minister.
It will be recalled that on November 17, the District Court of The Hague sentenced Igor Girkin, Serhii Dubinsky and Leonid Kharchenko to life imprisonment in absentia for their role in the downing of the Malaysian airliner MH17 over Donbas and instructed to ensure their arrest. The court decided that they should pay more than 16 million euros in compensation to the relatives of the victims.
Meanwhile, the fourth defendant, Oleg Pulatov, was found innocent by the court, despite the fact that he was Girkin's deputy and gave instructions to the other defendants regarding the evacuation of the Buk system.
The Hague Court also recognized that Russia controlled the "DNR" during the downing of the MH17 airliner.
