Inspection
In keeping with the decision taken by the court on 16 April 2021, the inspection of the reconstruction of the MH17 and the wreckage will be conducted on Wednesday 26 May 2021. Accordingly, the court session will be transferred to the air base in Gilze-Rijen (Noord-Brabant) on that day. Today the court also announced the procedure for that day. The court has not yet seen the reconstruction and the pieces of wreckage and will be the first to view them on Wednesday. Afterwards the counsel for the defence, the prosecutors and two members of the counsel for the relatives will have the opportunity to look at the reconstruction and the pieces of wreckage. The entire inspection session may be viewed via livestream. The court will also have the inspection recorded and will add these recordings to the prosecution file.
During the inspection the court will pay special attention to the shape and size of the impact damage to the fuselage, cockpit and other parts of the airplane. As needed, the court will use an aerial work platform to get a close-up view of the damage to the wreckage items.
Additional motions and requests for investigation
At the hearing today the defence submitted additional motions and requests for investigation to the court. The prosecution will respond to them in writing by 18 June 2021, after which the court will take decisions about them.
Impact relatives
Today the court also considered the relatives and the impact that the inspection and the hearing on the merits may have on them. The court stated that the autopsy reports on the victims will not be discussed in detail during the hearing on the merits, and that no footage depicting the victims will be screened.
Watch the livestream footage here:
Livestream 21 May 2021