Classifying Results of MH17 Crash Probe Unacceptable for Victims – Lawyer

MOSCOW (Sputnik), Anastasia Levchenko – Classifying the results of the official international investigation into the MH17 Malaysia Airlines plane crash is unacceptable for the relatives of the victims of the catastrophe, a lawyer representing the families of the MH17 passengers told Sputnik on Thursday.

Earlier in the week, the Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister for European Integration Olena Zerkal claimed that the results of the official MH17 international investigation would not be available publicly.

John Beer, who represents a large number of families of MH17’s 298 passengers, said he expected the Dutch Safety Board to issue a public report on its investigation results later this year.

"I think it would be unacceptable if our clients would not be informed about the full results of the investigation," Beer, attorney at law at Beer Advocaten firm and board of governors member at the American Association for Justice, told Sputnik.

Flight MH17, en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, crashed in Ukraine's eastern region of Donetsk on July 17, 2014. All 298 people on board, mostly Dutch citizens, were killed.

The Dutch Safety Board released a preliminary report on the crash later that year, stating that the plane broke up in mid-air after being hit by a number of high-energy objects penetrating the plane from the outside. A final report is expected in October.

An international team of experts from Ukraine, the Netherlands, Belgium, Australia and Malaysia, was established shortly after the crash, with a mandate to complete an investigation set to expire on February 7, 2016.