Defense lawyers for a Russian charged with involvement in the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 over eastern Ukraine in 2014 said Tuesday that the nearly six-year investigation into the deadly incident still has not produced a definitive picture of what happened and further investigations are needed.
The claim came at the trial of three Russians and a Ukrainian charged with crimes including murder for their alleged involvement in what prosecutors say was a missile attack that blew the Amsterdam-to-Kuala Lumpur flight out of the sky, killing all 298 passengers and crew on board on July 17, 2014.
In a move that could significantly delay the trial, Dutch lawyers representing Russian suspect Oleg Pulatov asked for clarifications and translations of evidence already produced by prosecutors and more investigations, including questioning more than 100 witnesses.
FILE - In this Monday, June 8, 2020 file photo, Presiding judge Hendrik Steenhuis, rear, fourth from left, opens the court session as the trial resumed at the high security court building at Schiphol Airport, near Amsterdam, for three Russians and a Ukrainian charged with crimes including murder for their alleged roles in the shooting down of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine nearly six years ago. Defense lawyers for a Russian charged with involvement in the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 over eastern Ukraine in 2014 have cast doubt on prosecutors’ assertions that the passenger jet was shot down by a surface-to-air missile, it was reported on Monday, June 22, 2020. (AP PhotoRobin van Lonkhuijsen, Pool, File)
Lawyer Sabine ten Doesschate said she and the defense team would have more requests for further investigations in the future after they have been able to travel to Russia to speak with Pulatov. She said lawyers have not been able to visit Pulatov because of coronavirus lockdown restrictions.
After years of investigations by an international team, prosecutors last year named four suspects: Russians Igor Girkin, Sergey Dubinskiy and Pulatov as well as Ukrainian Leonid Kharchenko. None of them have appeared for their trial, which started in March and is still at a preliminary stage.
At trial hearings earlier this month, prosecutors outlined in detail how the international investigation ruled out other theories and concluded that a Buk missile trucked into Ukraine from a Russian military base was used to shoot down the plane.
Presiding judge Hendrik Steenhuis opens the court session as the trial resumed at the high security court building at Schiphol Airport, near Amsterdam, Monday, June 8, 2020, for three Russians and a Ukrainian charged with crimes including murder for their alleged roles in the shooting down of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine nearly six years ago. (AP PhotoRobin van Lonkhuijsen, POOL)
But another of Pulatov's defense attorneys, Boudewijn van Eijck, accused investigators of tunnel vision in focusing on that theory and not adequately checking out other possible causes, such as the possibility that MH17 was shot down by a Ukrainian fighter jet or another missile.
Presiding Judge Hendrik Steenhuis adjourned the case until Friday, when judges are expected to rule on the defense requests.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran wants to negotiate with Washington after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic over its bloody crackdown on protesters, a move coming as activists said Monday the death toll in the nationwide demonstrations rose to at least 544.
Iran had no immediate reaction to the news, which came after the foreign minister of Oman — long an interlocutor between Washington and Tehran — traveled to Iran this weekend. It also remains unclear just what Iran could promise, particularly as Trump has set strict demands over its nuclear program and its ballistic missile arsenal, which Tehran insists is crucial for its national defense.
Meanwhile Monday, Iran called for pro-government demonstrators to head to the streets in support of the theocracy, a show of force after days of protests directly challenging the rule of 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iranian state television aired chants from the crowd, who shouted “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!”
Trump and his national security team have been weighing a range of potential responses against Iran including cyberattacks and direct strikes by the U.S. or Israel, according to two people familiar with internal White House discussions who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
“The military is looking at it, and we’re looking at some very strong options,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday night. Asked about Iran’s threats of retaliation, he said: “If they do that, we will hit them at levels that they’ve never been hit before.”
Trump said that his administration was in talks to set up a meeting with Tehran, but cautioned that he may have to act first as reports of the death toll in Iran mount and the government continues to arrest protesters.
“I think they’re tired of being beat up by the United States,” Trump said. “Iran wants to negotiate.”
He added: “The meeting is being set up, but we may have to act because of what’s happening before the meeting. But a meeting is being set up. Iran called, they want to negotiate.”
Iran through country's parliamentary speaker warned Sunday that the U.S. military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if America uses force to protect demonstrators.
More than 10,600 people also have been detained over the two weeks of protests, said the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has been accurate in previous unrest in recent years and gave the death toll. It relies on supporters in Iran crosschecking information. It said 496 of the dead were protesters and 48 were with security forces.
With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut off, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the toll. Iran’s government has not offered overall casualty figures.
Those abroad fear the information blackout is emboldening hard-liners within Iran’s security services to launch a bloody crackdown. Protesters flooded the streets in the country’s capital and its second-largest city on Saturday night into Sunday morning. Online videos purported to show more demonstrations Sunday night into Monday, with a Tehran official acknowledging them in state media.
In Tehran, a witness told the AP that the streets of the capital empty at the sunset call to prayers each night. By the Isha, or nighttime prayer, the streets are deserted.
Part of that stems from the fear of getting caught in the crackdown. Police sent the public a text message that warned: “Given the presence of terrorist groups and armed individuals in some gatherings last night and their plans to cause death, and the firm decision to not tolerate any appeasement and to deal decisively with the rioters, families are strongly advised to take care of their youth and teenagers.”
Another text, which claimed to come from the intelligence arm of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, also directly warned people not to take part in demonstrations.
“Dear parents, in view of the enemy’s plan to increase the level of naked violence and the decision to kill people, ... refrain from being on the streets and gathering in places involved in violence, and inform your children about the consequences of cooperating with terrorist mercenaries, which is an example of treason against the country,” the text warned.
The witness spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity due to the ongoing crackdown.
The demonstrations began Dec. 28 over the collapse of the Iranian rial currency, which trades at over 1.4 million to $1, as the country’s economy is squeezed by international sanctions in part levied over its nuclear program. The protests intensified and grew into calls directly challenging Iran’s theocracy.
Nikhinson reported from aboard Air Force One.
In this frame grab from video obtained by the AP outside Iran, a masked demonstrator holds a picture of Iran's Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi during a protest in Tehran, Iran, Friday, January. 9, 2026. (UGC via AP)
In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran shows protesters taking to the streets despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026.(UGC via AP)
In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran showed protesters once again taking to the streets of Tehran despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Saturday Jan. 10, 2026. (UGC via AP)
