MH17: Malaysia accepted as full member of probe team

PETALING JAYA: Malaysia has been accepted as a full and equal member of the MH17 Joint Investigation Team that is tasked with focusing on the criminal investigation into the downing of the Malaysian Airlines (MAS) flight.

The notification of the acceptance of Malaysia in the team was conveyed by the Dutch National Public Prosecutor’s Office through a letter dated Nov 28 that was received by Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail on Monday.

Malaysia will be joining Netherlands, Australia, Belgium and Ukraine, who were initially the original members of the team.

Gani will be leaving for The Hague on Wednesday to attend the third Eurojust Coordination Meeting on the joint international criminal investigation process.

The meeting that is scheduled on Thursday will also be attended by Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar.

Flight MH17 was carrying 283 passengers and 15 crew from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur when it was shot down in eastern Ukraine on July 17.

It was earlier reported that Malaysia had yet to be involved in the criminal investigation into the downing of MH17.