Dutch prosecutors won’t appeal sole acquittal in MH17 trial

By MOLLY QUELL
Associated Press

THE HAGUE (AP) — The Dutch prosecutor’s office says it won’t appeal the acquittal of a man charged in the shooting down of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 as it flew over eastern Ukraine in 2014. Earlier this month, a court in the Netherlands convicted three other men in absentia for supplying the Russian surface-to-air missile which was used to bring down Flight 17, killing all 298 people on board the Boeing 777. Russian Oleg Pulatov, the only suspect represented by defense lawyers at the trial, was acquitted for lack of evidence. In forgoing an appeal, the Netherlands Public Prosecution Service on Thursday cited concerns about added stress on the families of the airliner’s late passengers and crew members.