Do the suspects have to attend the court hearing?

A suspect is not obliged to attend the trial. There are three options:

  1. The suspect himself comes to the hearing, for example together with a lawyer. In the MH17 case it will be accidentally possible for a suspect to attend the trial via video conferencing.
  2. The suspect does not come himself, but an authorised lawyer comes to the hearing.
  3. The suspect chooses not to attend the trial and not to be represented by a lawyer.