PUTRAJAYA, July 13 — A memorial service to mark the third anniversary of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 tragedy which was shot down in Ukraine in 2014 was held behind a closed-door gathering here today. 

The next-of-kin of victims of MH17 attended the event which was held at a leading hotel.

They were seen arriving at the hotel in stages from 10am. 

Transport Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai attended the event. Also present were Malaysia Airlines Bhd chief executive officer Peter Bellew and its chairman Tan Sri Md Nor Md Yusof. 

A briefing on the prosecution process to be carried out in the Netherlands was also held in conjunction with the event. Liow is reported to preside over the briefing. 

It is learnt that there were requests for the memorial service to be held privately, however, the media came in droves.  

The Boeing B777 aircraft, which was on a flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur with 298 passengers and crew, was shot down in eastern Ukraine on July 17, 2014. 

Malaysia and the Joint Investigating Team (JIT) countries of the Netherlands, Belgium, Ukraine and Australia have agreed that national prosecution against those responsible for shooting down MH17 be done in the Netherlands.

Liow recently said that the investigation process was narrowed down to 100 suspects and a full investigation was expected to be completed early next year before the prosecution process began. — Bernama