Flight MH17 was shot down over eastern Ukraine on July 17, 2014. All 298 people on board, including almost 200 Dutch people, were killed.
‘Unique and historic’
From Monday, 91 relatives will share their victim statement in 15 minutes each, in November another eight relatives will do so. This is done live in court or via a secure live stream.
“This is a unique and historic event,” says Sander de Lang of legal aid team MH17. “Never before in Dutch criminal justice have so many people spoken during criminal proceedings.”
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What is right to speak?
Since 2005, victims have been allowed to tell their story during the handling of a criminal case. People who are victims of a crime for which eight years in prison or more can be demanded are eligible.
In addition, the right to speak applies to a number of criminal offenses referred to in the law, such as certain sexual offenses and very serious traffic accidents.
Victims were initially only allowed to talk about the consequences of the crime for their lives. Since 1 July 2016, everything can be discussed in a victim statement: from the evidence to the amount of the sentence.
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The purpose of this right to speak is to show what the ‘huge impact’ of the disaster is on the lives of the next of kin, says De Lang. “The judges will take that into account in the sentence.”
Relatives can say what they want. “But we advise against making judgments about the suspects now, because it is not yet clear what exactly happened. That could damage the process, because then the suspects could take the position that they have been convicted in advance.”
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Peter van der Meer will be one of the first to speak on Monday. He lost all three of his daughters in the disaster. Sophie, Fleur and Bente. 12, 10 and 7 years old. “I want to give them a face.”
For many people, the disaster was a long time ago, says Van der Meer. “For me it’s daily fare.” Every morning he wakes up with the pain of what has happened. “That starts with the pictures of my daughters.” They are, among other things, in the ‘girl’s room’, he shows in the video below. “It’s a kind of remembrance room.”
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Van der Meer’s statement will be about those first weeks after the disaster, up to and including now. “At first you think the pain will go down. It won’t. This will last until I die.” He may still be exhausted after a week of good sleep and enjoy life less. With his statement he wants to show his pain, and what he is missing.
‘Convincing people to tell the truth’
He does not expect the judges to do much with that statement. “A judge is independent and professional. I don’t think they take it into account in their judgment. But they are people too, so they will get something from it. They may somehow factor it into the sentence. “
Van Der Meer especially hopes that the statements will ensure that people who have anything to do with the disaster are persuaded to tell part of the truth. “Or the whole truth.”
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This is how the relatives are prepared for the right to speak
It has been explained to all relatives how to draw up a statement, says Sander de Lang of the Legal Aid Team MH17
“We also gave practical tips. Take your time or drink a glass of water if you can’t handle it anymore. And think about who will take over the statement on your behalf if it really doesn’t work anymore.”
Anne Faber’s family was also invited to a meeting to tell how she experienced the right to speak.
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Jeanne Hornikx will also speak on the last day of the session. Hornikx lost her 31-year-old daughter Astrid at the MH17 disaster. She will talk about the impact of this on Friday 24 September at 10:00 AM.
That’s exciting, she says. “It feels like this is the last thing we can do for our late daughter Astrid.”
She and her husband stay in Zeeland, at a campsite where they often came with Astrid. “We are looking for peace here. This is how we prepare ourselves.” She has what she wants to say on paper. She reads through it every now and then.
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Initially, Jeanne and her husband did not like that they were not allowed to speak until the last day. “But then we realized that the 24th is also the birthday date of her deceased friend Bart. We said: they arranged that for us up there.”
Jeanne and her husband think it is very important that the judges hear what the plane crash does to them. “Everyone should know that. What has been taken from us. Our most precious possession, our daughter. You hear a lot about the process, but not how the relatives are doing.”
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Because it goes up and down, she says. “Sitting in a corner on the couch doesn’t solve anything, so you look for a way to continue. There are also nice moments. But you always have a backpack.”
What do they hope to achieve? “That it is listened to. That it makes an impression. Nobody can solve it, but we would like to let the judges know what impact the disaster has on our lives. I would prefer to push the perpetrators under the noses of what it has done to us. “
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