The Hague (Netherlands), February 9: The District Court of The Hague has ordered preparations to be done for inspecting the wreckage of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17, presiding judge Hendrik Steenhuis announced on Monday.
Whether the court will actually examine the recovered wreckage parts of MH17 will be decided at a later stage. The hearing in the case will resume on April 15.
"Regarding a possible inspection of the reconstruction, the court has said that a decision can be taken only once the experts have been interviewed by the investigating judge," the judge stated.
"If it then becomes clear that the experts have different opinions as to the weapon that may have been used and the firing site, an inspection will be conducted. Because an inspection is a vast exercise, the public prosecution service is already tasked with preparing it."
Part of the crashed aircraft has been reconstructed at the Gilze-Rijen Air Base in the south of the Netherlands.
The court announced that only a limited number of persons will be able to attend the possible inspection. This is because the inspection site is a hangar of modest size in a military base. In addition, COVID-19 measures may still be in effect at that point in time. If an inspection is conducted, the court will provide livestream coverage.
Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 crashed in the conflict zone in eastern Ukraine on July 17, 2014, while flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur. All 298 people on board died, including 196 Dutch citizens.
A report published by the Joint Investigation Team (JIT), which comprises of representatives from the governments of the Netherlands, Australia, Malaysia, Belgium and Ukraine, in September 2016 alleged that the plane was shot down by a Russian-made Buk missile fired from a region in eastern Ukraine controlled by independence-seeking insurgents.
Russia has denied any involvement in the downing of MH17.
Source: Xinhua