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Disinfo: The Dutch justice system is comparable with the Inquisition

Summary

The trial in the case of MH17 resembles the Inquisition, which is trying to make Russia guilty of the crash of the Malaysian airliner, without any evidence. The fact that Holland is conducting the investigation is not in Russia’s favour. The Dutch justice system is comparable with the Inquisition, which prevents the suspect from proving his innocence. These methods were practised in Middle Ages, but apparently still exist in the Netherlands.

Disproof

One of the multiple pro-Kremlin disinformation narratives on the downing of Flight MH17, denying Russia's responsibility. The article claims that the trial in the case of MH17 resembles the 'Inquisition'; trying to make Russia guilty, without any evidence. The website claims this is a translation of an article by "Courthouse News". However, the article on Courthouse News does not claim this; it only compares the Dutch criminal law system with the criminal law system of the US:

"The Dutch legal system is an inquisitorial system where the court is involved in the investigation of the crime, as opposed to the adversarial system in the United States where two sides present competing evidence before an impartial judge or jury".

The inquisitorial system originates from continental Europe and is widely used around the world. More importantly, it does not prevent the suspect from proving his innocence. In this system, "the presiding judge is primarily responsible for supervising the gathering of the evidence necessary to resolve the case. He or she actively steers the search for evidence and questions the witnesses, including the respondent or defendant". Read more about the differences between the inquisitorial and adversarial systems here.

On 28 September 2016, the JIT announced that flight MH17 was shot down by a missile from the 9M38 series, which was launched by a BUK TELAR missile system. The system was transported from the Russian Federation to an agricultural field near the town of Pervomaiskiy in Eastern Ukraine, from where the missile was launched. After firing, the system, with one missing missile, went back to the Russian Federation. On 24 May 2018, the JIT announced its conclusion that the BUK TELAR used to shoot down MH17 came from the 53rd Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade, a unit of the Russian armed forces from Kursk in the Russian Federation. On 10 July 2020, the Dutch government decided to bring Russia before the European Court of Human Rights for its role in the downing of Flight MH17. As stated on the government's website, it "attaches importance to continuing the meetings with Russia on the matter of state responsibility. The purpose of these meetings is to find a solution that does justice to the enormous suffering and damage cause by the downing of Flight MH17."

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publication/media

Politros.com (Archived)
ytro.ru (Archived)
  • Reported in: Issue 215
  • DATE OF PUBLICATION: 01/10/2020
  • Outlet language(s) Russian
  • Country: The Netherlands
  • Keywords: MH17
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Disproof

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Disproof

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Trump faced several coup attempts, including the impeachment and the Russian collusion fraud

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Sep 30, 2020
Disproof

Conspiracy theory, with no evidence provided to support the claim. This is a recurrent pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about an alleged plot against president Donald Trump by undemocratic powers, articulated through a “fake Russiagate” and an impeachment process. The 2019 impeachment was not a coup attempt but an entirely legal procedure contemplated by the US Senate legislation, whose aim was to determine whether President Trump committed high crimes and misdemeanours by 1) pressing a foreign government (Ukraine's) to harm a domestic political rival, former vice president and current Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, and 2) trying to impede a Congressional investigation by blocking testimony and refusing to provide documents in response to House subpoenas. Regarding to collusion with Russia, there were plenty of reasons for US authorities to open an investigation, as the Volume 5 of the Intelligence Committee of the US Senate on Russian Interference in the 2016 election (released in August 2020) shows, which highlights many elements that were not cleared by the previous Mueller Report. Though Mueller’s inquiry only had stated that the investigation “did not establish that members of the Trump Campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities”, it unequivocally established that Russia attempted to interfere in the election on Trump’s favour. Pro-Kremlin disinformation, however, has repeatedly portrayed Mueller’s work as proof that there was no such interference and that Russia is always falsely accused. See other examples of these disinformation narratives, such as claims that the Deep State is behind the racial justice protests in the US; that Trump’s impeachment was a failed plot by a group of Democrats obsessed with Soros, who had links to the whistleblower who triggered the inquiry; that the NYT story on Trump’s tax returns proves that the Russiagate is a hoax; that the CIA is organising a colour revolution in the US to oust Trump after the 2020 election; or that US Democrats are trying to destroy Trump and incite a civil war. This disinformation message appeared in the same article as the claim that “Biden refused to condemn street violence because he fears losing electoral weight.”