Insights

Today marked the start of a new block of hearings addressing the state of play in the additional investigation by the investigating judge.

The hearings in the MH17 criminal proceedings are still in the pretrial review stage.

Today court resumed after adjourning the hearing on 1 February 2021. During a brief session the court took decisions regarding requests by the defence.

The court will decide about the requests submitted today on 8 February 2021 at 14:00 hours.

Additional investigation, application to conduct an inspection, claims for damage compensation, requests by the defence, the way forward.

On Monday 7 June 2021 the District Court of The Hague will open the hearing on the merits in the MH17 criminal trial.

Now that the pretrial stage has been completed on 25 November 2020, the hearing on the merits is approaching.

An interlocutory decision, rulings on the requests for investigation submitted by the defence, counsel for the relatives and the Public Prosecution Service.

On 25 November 2020 the court shall decide which requests from the defence and which applications from the PPS will, and which will not be granted.

Yesterday and today were dedicated to the response from the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) to the requests for additional investigation presented by the defence.

Today the Public Prosecution Service took the floor in order to react to investigation requests which were submitted last week by counsel for the defence.

Over the past three days the defence had the floor and presented investigation requests.

On Thursday 12 November 2020 the hearing will resume.

Today counsel for the defence took the floor again to elaborate on their investigation requests.

Today the defence had the floor.

The defence will have the opportunity to submit the other requests for further investigation.

Progress by the defence. The members of counsel visited the Russian Federation and spoke with their client there.

One of the topics that will be discussed then is the progress made by the defence.

The third block of hearings in the criminal case opened today.

Relatives of the victims, interested parties and media have the following possibilities to be present in the Justitieel Complex Schiphol.

The interlocutory decision in which the Court has decided on requests and applications has now been published on Rechtspraak.nl

At 10:00 a.m. the hearing will resume. At first the counsel for the relatives will have the opportunity to address the court.

Today the court decided on the applications and requests made in this hearing block by the public prosecution service, the defence and the counsel for the relatives (RBT).

Today the prosecution took the floor, after the defence had addressed the court on 22 and 23 June 2020.

This Friday 3 July at 1:30 p.m. it is expected that the court will takes decisions.

Over the last two days, the question has been put a number of times: at what point in the proceedings are we exactly?

On 22 June 2020 at 10.00 a.m. CET, the hearings will resume. The court is confident that the defence will submit its requests to it earlier if possible. The further course of the proceedings will become known on 22 June 2020.

The prosecution has had the floor for the last 2.5 days and has provided an overview of the criminal investigation. The court is mindful of the fact that this may well have been an upsetting experience for the next of kin.

Today, the prosecution had the floor.

In the press centre of the Judicial Complex Schiphol, Judicial Spokespeople Paul Rouwen took stock of the day of the MH17 trial.

The trial will resume Monday 8 June. On 23 March 2020, the last hearing took place in the first block of hearings in the MH17 criminal trial.

Contrary to previous announcements, the press centre at Schiphol Judicial Complex will be open and host a maximum of 30 persons a day.

As scheduled, the MH17 criminal case will resume on Monday, 8 June next.

Today, the District Court of The Hague ruled on whether the examining magistrate had correctly granted threatened witness status to 13 witnesses in the MH17 criminal proceedings.

The MH17 criminal case resumed today in an adjusted format due to coronavirus-related measures. Seated in a largely empty courtroom D at the Schiphol Judicial Complex, the court responded to the applications and requests presented at the hearing of 9 and 10 March.

The hearings that were planned for Wednesday 11, Thursday 12 and Friday 13 March 2020 have been cancelled. Admission tickets issued for these days have therefore also been cancelled. The court will next sit on: Monday 23 March 2020.

In the press centre of the Judicial Complex Schiphol, Judicial Spokespeople Marije Knijff and Paul Rouwen took stock of the second day of the MH17 trial.

At the end of today’s court hearing, Judicial Spokespeople Yolande Wijnnobel and Paul Rouwen of the District Court of The Hague briefed the press.

On court days, The Schiphol Judicial Complex (JCS) is best reached by public transport.

The MH17 criminal trial will start Monday, March 9, 2020. Many people wonder what to expect from the first sessions.

The accreditation system for attending the first session of the MH17 criminal trial is closed.

Journalists will be pleased to know that they are able to obtain the names of the suspects, court of session opening hours and the indictment Monday 2 March 2020 at 9:00 am in the file mailbox and Friday 6 March 2020 at 1:00 pm for inspection at the press centre.

The MH17 trial will start on 9 March 2020 at 10.00 hrs. Due to the development of the Covid-19 virus (also known as the corona virus), we will take precautionary measures at the Schiphol Judicial Complex and the adjacent press centre.

A law firm has recently been reported for the defendant(s). The District Court of The Hague will not release the name of the firm and does not specify for which suspect(s).

The first period for registering to attend the hearings in the MH17 criminal case at Schiphol Judicial Complex in Badhoevedorp (the Netherlands) has expired.

Today registration opens to attend the hearings in the MH17 criminal case at Schiphol Judicial Complex in Badhoevedorp (the Netherlands).

The courtroom in the Schiphol Judicial Complex is not large enough to offer a place for all interested parties and all media. Because the District Court of The Hague value the fact that everyone can follow this case and report on it, an alternative has been figured out. The animation explains the possibilities.

Introduction to the location and layout of the Schiphol Judicial Complex

On Friday 13 December 2019 the registration to attend the court sessions of the MH17 criminal proceedings at the Schiphol Judicial Complex will start.