SCHIPHOL, Netherlands (AP) — A Dutch court has convicted two Russians and a Ukrainian of the murders of 298 people, including an IU grad student, who died in the 2014 downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over Ukraine.
One Russian was acquitted for lack of evidence. Presiding Judge Hendrik Steenhuis said that evidence presented by prosecutors at a trial that lasted more than two years proved that the Boeing 777 flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur was brought down by a Buk missile fired by pro-Moscow Ukrainian rebels on July 17, 2014.
None of the defendants appeared for the trial that began in March 2020 and if they are convicted, it’s unlikely they will serve any sentence anytime soon. Prosecutors had sought life sentences for all four.
IU grad student Karlijn Keijzer was among those killed in the incident. She traveled from the Netherlands to Bloomington for a special memorial. The 25-year-old was a member of IU's women's rowing team.
She later received a posthumous doctoral degree.
