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Journalist claims Dutch police confiscated materials about MH17 crash

Dutch police have confiscated materials concerning the MH17 crash from two independent journalists returning form Donbass, one of the journalists, Stefan Beck, says

THE HAGUE, January 9. /TASS/. Dutch police have confiscated materials concerning the MH17 crash from two independent journalists returning form Donbass, one of the journalists, Stefan Beck, wrote on his Facebook page.

"All of the material collected by Michel Spekkers and me about the MH17 crash in Donbass (Lugansk and Donetsk) and other material, for example street interviews, has been confiscated by the police upon arrival to the Netherlands," he wrote.

Beck noted that "the Dutch Public Prosecution Service (OM) claims that it itself could not collect this material because the region where the plane has crashed is too dangerous… Another claim of the OM is that it is impossible to collect all the material of the wreckage because it has been spread over such a large area... This is a valid claim, however the OM also neglects to collect material which is collected in warehouses."

"The incorrect reasoning of the OM and the confiscation of the material (including image material) gives rise to doubt about the auditability and reliability of the investigation," the Dutch journalist concluded.

Meanwhile, Dutch police sources told the Netherlands Broadcasting Corporation that the materials collected at the crash site had been handed over to law enforcement officers. The police also have a camera, cellphones and a notebook of the independent journalists which could be used during the investigation, the corporation added.

On July 17, 2014, a Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 flight MH17 en route from the Dutch city of Amsterdam to the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur crashed in the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine. All the 283 passengers and 15 crew members, nationals from ten countries, died in the crash. Most passengers were Dutch nationals. Ukraine’s authorities and the militia of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic accused each other of the tragedy. Dutch authorities have been investigating the crash.