Cops begin probe into MH17, A-G says Putrajaya seeking justice
Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail (pic) said police have opened investigation papers into the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 jet over Ukrainian airspace, an Umno-controlled daily reported today.
The New Straits Times quoted Gani as saying that the Civil Aviation Act, the Penal Code as well as the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act were being looked into as Putrajaya seeks to bring the perpetrators to justice.
"Putrajaya will also seek the cooperation of the countries concerned to extradite the accused for trial in Malaysia," he told a group of Malaysian reporters in The Hague, the Netherlands, yesterday .
Inspector General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar was reported to have said that three investigating officers had accompanied Gani on the trip.
Gani told the daily that here were several precedents, including the prosecution of seven Somalis in 2011 for trying to hijack a chemical tanker operated by a Malaysian company in the Gulf of Aden and using firearms against the Malaysian armed forces.
The daily also reported Gani as saying that 11 nations whose citizens died in the tragedy were undertaking legal recourse against those responsible for bringing down the plane on July 17.
The Amsterdam-Kuala Lumpur bound aircraft was carrying 298 people, including 15 Malaysian cabin crew.
Gani said that this legal option was being pursued with the aid of Eurojust.
"Its role is critical in assisting Putrajaya in the gathering of evidence and bringing the perpetrators to justice," the NST quoted him as saying.
Eurojust is an European Union agency that deals with judicial cooperation in criminal matters and serves as a coordinating body to collect all information provided by the 11 nations for investigation and prosecution purposes.
Gani said Malaysia stood a better chance of getting justice with Eurojust being the platform for mutual legal assistance from the countries involved in the tragedy.
“This is because all the physical evidence and eyewitnesses are beyond Malaysia,” he said, adding that Putrajaya would also rely on forensic findings from the other countries to strengthen its case.
Gani said Malaysia would also attempt to obtain critical information from the investigations led by the Dutch government, including post-mortem results, as well as data retrieved from the aircraft’s flight data and cockpit voice recorders.
He said Malaysia would seek to retrieve data from intercepted communications relevant to the MH17 case as well as recordings between the pilots and the Ukrainian air traffic controllers. – July 28, 2014.
