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The Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Simon Coveney TD, has welcomed the ongoing efforts to establish accountability on the third anniversary of the downing of flight MH17.

The Joint Investigation Team comprising law enforcement authorities from the Netherlands, Australia, Belgium, Malaysia and Ukraine has recently announced that the prosecution of those responsible can take place in the Netherlands. Minister Coveney said:

“Ireland continues to be fully supportive of the criminal investigation being undertaken by the Joint Investigation Team and which is still ongoing.

Today marks three years since the downing of flight MH17. It is of the utmost importance that accountability is established, for the victims who so tragically lost their lives, as well as for their family and friends.

Ireland supports the countries of the Joint Investigation Team in their determination to ensure accountability.”

Notes for Editors
On 17 July 2014, Malaysian Airlines Flight MH 17 between Amsterdam and Kuala Lumpur crashed over eastern Ukraine. All 298 passengers, including one Irish-born passenger, lost their lives. The majority of victims were from The Netherlands (193), Malaysia (43), Australia (27), Indonesia (12) and the UK (10).

A criminal investigation was launched into the downing of the flight by a Joint Investigation Team (JIT) led by the Netherlands, comprising investigation authorities from the Netherlands, Ukraine, Malaysia, Australia and Belgium. The interim results of the criminal investigation were published on 28 September 2016.