A Sunshine Coast son is “relieved” Dutch prosecutors have demanded life sentences for those accused of downing Flight MH17, an atrocity that claimed his parents.
However, Matthew Horder, a vice-president and former Nippers chairman at Mooloolaba Surf Life Saving Club, said the time it was taking to gain justice for families who lost loved ones in the 2014 tragedy was “incredibly frustrating”.
MH17, en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, was brought down by a surface-to-air-missile over eastern Ukraine where rebels were fighting government forces. A total of 298 people were killed, including 80 children and 38 Australians.
Among them were beloved Brisbane retirees Howard, 63, and Susan Horder, 62, (pictured below) who were returning from a holiday in Europe.
Three Russians and a Ukrainian have been charged with murder and just before Christmas, Prosecutor Manon Ridderbeks demanded life terms for all four, named as Igor Girkin, Sergey Dubinsky, Oleg Pulatov and Leonid Kharchenko.
The court heard the defendants helped supply a missile system that Russian-backed separatists used to fire a rocket at the Malaysia Airlines flight.
“By shooting down MH17 with a Buk … the defendants used devastating violence. They planned this violence beforehand and they organised it in close cooperation,” prosecutor Thijs Berger said.
Mr Horder and his Melbourne-based brothers, Adam and David, were recently given a voice at the trial, where they delivered a victim impact statement to judges via video-link.
He told Sunshine Coast News that the latest part of the trial had been a long time coming with the court proceedings dating back to early 2019.
“At different times it has taken its toll on myself and the family … it’s been an incredibly frustrating couple of years watching the trial from afar and not being able to be present (due to Covid) in the court room,” Mr Horder said.
“To have prosecutors formally present their findings and demand life imprisonment is somewhat a relief,” he said.
“Nonetheless, we are facing another lengthy year in 2022, but we are hopeful of some closure over the next 12 months in the criminal trial.”
Mr Horder said the timing of the most recent hearings the week before Christmas had been very hard.
“Obviously Christmas is a time to be with family so our thoughts are with our parents at this time of year,” he said.
Prosecutors said they were also trying to identify the people who fired the missile and the Russian officials who sent the Buk to Eastern Ukraine.
Closing arguments are expected in March and a verdict by the end of 2022.
Families acknowledge that the perpetrators may never be jailed but believe it is important that the world knows, and remembers, who was responsible.
Trial coverage via AAP
