International investigators did not question Tsemakh before release
The Appeal Court released key suspect in MH17 case Volodymyr Tsemakh on personal recognizanceю
Censor.NET reports citing Radio.Svoboda.
The Joint Investigation Team (JIT) did not question suspect in MH17 case Volodymyr Tsemakh before his release as Radio Liberty reported citing JIT Spokesperson Brechtje van de Moosdijk.
According to JIT spokeswoman, ex-militants of Donetsk People’s Republic Tsemakh is "a person interesting for the investigation". Besides, she expressed the regret on his release as the investigators are not able anymore to question him.
"We would like to talk to him but know it will be difficult. We would like him to stay in Ukraine to talk to him. It does not mean that MH17 case investigation will be stopped; it will continue. But we regret if we will not be able to talk to him," Moosdijk said.
The Appeal Court released key suspect in MH17 case Volodymyr Tsemakh on personal recognizance. Prosecutor believes that Tsemakh may return to occupied Donbas.
In late June this year, Ukrainian special services detained former "air defense commander" of the town of Snizhne Volodymyr Tsemakh in the territory of the so-called "Donetsk People's Republic."
On June 28, Tsemakh was taken to Kyiv, and on June 29, Shevchenkivsky District Court ruled to arrest him for two months.
Tsemakh is suspected of committing a criminal offense provided for in Part 1 of Article 258-3 (the creation of a terrorist group or terrorist organization) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
In an interview with a separatist media outlet, Tsemakh openly spoke about the crash of the Malaysia Airlines Boeing-777 and even confirmed that a missile had been launched from a Buk air defense missile system.
Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, which was en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, was shot down over Donbas in July 2014. There were 283 passengers and 15 crewmembers on board the plane. All of them died.
In September 2016, the JIT said it had been established on the basis of irrefutable evidence that the plane had been shot down by a 9M38 Buk missile launched from the territory controlled by pro-Russian militants in the eastern part of Ukraine. In addition, the JIT said on May 24 that the Buk missile system from which the aircraft was downed belongs to the 53rd Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade of the Russian Armed Forces stationed in Kursk.
In May 2018, the Netherlands and Australia officially stated that they hold the Russian state legally responsible for the downing of MH17.
