Calls for international tribunal into shooting down of MH17
The UK Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond has called for a UN-backed international tribunal into the shooting down of MH17 on the first anniversary of the disaster.
The Malaysian Airlines Boeing 777 was shot down over the Ukraine as it flew from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, killing all 298 passengers and crew on board.
"Justice must be delivered for the 298 innocent people who lost their lives," said Hammond.
"That requires an international tribunal, backed by a resolution binding all UN member states, to prosecute those responsible.
"Any attempt to undermine this process would deprive the victims of justice and cannot be tolerated."
Hammond said he expects further progress with a criminal investigation, designed to identify those responsible, following the publication of a ‘definitive’ technical report by Dutch Safety Board later this year.
"The highly professional team of investigators have been sifting through vast quantities of evidence, gathered painstakingly in the face of frequent obstruction and delays," he said.
Memorial services are being held all over the world today to remember the victims.
A special memorial is being held in the Dutch city of Nieuwegein for the 193 Dutch passengers who died. Their names will be read aloud by their family members.
In Australia, a memorial has already been held for the 39 citizens killed. A plaque with their names was unveiled in the gardens of Parliament House in Canberra, set in soil brought back from Ukraine by an Australian police officer.
Villagers close to the crash site in Ukraine are also holding a ceremony.
A memorial service was held earlier in Malaysia, on July 11, because the anniversary came at the end of the fasting month of Ramadam, traditionally a holiday.
Russian-backed rebels are widely believed to have shot down the plane but this has been denied by Moscow.
Instead, Russians have blamed Ukrainian government forces.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has rejected calls by the UK, Australia, the Netherlands, Malaysia and Ukraine to establish a UN tribunal to prosecute suspects.
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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