Haven't they suffered enough? Now MH17 victim's wife is forced to cancel his credit cards because they were being USED by thieving pro-Russian rebels
PUBLISHED: 03:48 GMT, 24 July 2014 | UPDATED: 08:41 GMT, 24 July 2014
The wife of a South African helicopter pilot killed in the MH17 disaster has been forced to cancel his credit cards because they have been used since the plane went down in Ukraine last week.Reine Dalziel's husband Cameron, a South African with a British passport who recently moved his family of four to Malaysia, was on board the Malaysia Airlines jet when it was struck by a missile fired by pro-Russian rebels.
As it emerged that heartless rebels are using victims' credit cards, answering their phones at the crash site and stealing their belongings - including sentimental items such as jewellery - Ms Dalziel's brother Shane Hattingh told CNN his sister was stunned to see activity on her husband's account.
'People are abusing it in the Ukraine,' Mr Hattingh told CNN.
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South African helicopter pilot Cameron Dalziel and his wife Reine recently moved to Malaysia with their two children
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Cameron Dalziel was killed in the MH17 disaster
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A man looks at the debris scattered at the crash site of the downed Malaysia Airlines flight MH17
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The crash site of MH17 in a field near the village of Grabove, in the Donetsk region
'They have no respect for each other, look what they're doing.
'It's no surprise that they were treating the remains of people like that. It made me angry beyond words.'
It comes as a series of disturbing new allegations emerged that added further weight to claims pro-Russian rebels looted the MH17 crash scene to sabotage the investigation and cash in on the disaster.
Desperate relatives revealed how they had called the mobile phones of their loves ones - only for them to be answered by strangers with 'eastern European-sounding voices'.
After the initial shock, they immediately called the phone companies to shut down the accounts to prevent them being used, according to reports.
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Poignant: Belongings lay scattered at the crash site near the village of Grabove as the first bodies from flight MH17 arrived in the Netherlands for identification
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New evidence has also emerged that the rebels allegedly planned to sabotage the investigation by contaminating the site with parts from other planes
At least one picture has emerged which appeared to show a ring being taken by a rebel from a body at the crash site.
And Ukrainian government adviser Anton Gerashchenko has claimed: 'After terrorists looters stole all the cash, jewellery, mobile phones and credit cards of passengers of ill-fated Boeing - they took up their favourite deal - gathering of scrap metal. Aluminum from which made the plane is expensive.'
Two days ago, Andrei Lysenko, spokesman for Ukraine's National Security and Defence Council, claimed: 'The cynicism of these gangsters has no limits.
'According to our information, apart from picking up valuable personal belongings of the passengers, terrorists are using credit cards of the victims.'
The claims, made in Holland's De Telegraaf, adds fuel to reports that crucial evidence has been tampered with after the Malaysian Airlines flight was blown out of the sky, allegedly by the same group of separatists, killing 298 people.
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A toy belonging to a child who died in the downed Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 is pictured in a field near the village of Grabove, in the Donetsk region
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Belongings of victims are pictured at the crash site of the Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 in a field near Grabove
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Toys in a bag are pictured at the crash site of the Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, in a field near the village of Grabove, in the Donetsk region
New evidence has also emerged that the rebels allegedly planned to sabotage the investigation by contaminating the site with parts from other planes.
UK intelligence chiefs claim they have uncovered evidence the insurgents also discussed removing bodies from the area and sending the black box data recorders to Moscow, according to Sky News sources in Whitehall.
Alistair Bunkall, Sky's Defence Correspondent, said: 'I think this will play into the fears that many people have that not all of the bodies will be returned, that parts of the plane have been tampered with in order to try and hide any evidence.
'This is all a part of UK intelligence working with intelligence agencies around the world to try and build up a picture not only of what happened at the point of impact, but also what happened in the hours and days that followed on from that.'
Meanwhile, an alleged decree by rebel commander Igor Strelkov appears to admit that the bodies of dead passengers were looted by pro-Russian rebels.
oment rebel finds gold ring while rifling through MH17 wreckage
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Evidence of looting? The image appears to show a rebel fighter handling a gold ring amid the wreckage
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Hunt for clues? A rebel fighter is filmed rifling through the bag of one of the 298 MH17 crash victims
The order says that jewellery, watches and other valuables taken from bodies must be handed in to the 'defence fund' of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic by 8pm on Wednesday 23 July.
Styled like other orders from Strelkov, its veracity could not be immediately established.
But if true, it will be seen as scandalous that the rebels are cashing in on the dead victims of the Malaysian plane widely believed to have been shot down by the same pro-Moscow separatists.
Rather than ordering any looted possessions to be returned to the families, it demands they are taken to Strelkov's headquarters so they can be used to fund the insurgency campaign he is conducting.
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Wants jewellery for 'defence fund': An alleged decree by rebel commander Igor Strelkov (centre) appears to admit that the bodies of dead passengers on MH17 were looted by pro-Russian separatists
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'Valuable items must be sent to the DPR Defence Fund': The alleged order (above) is apparently signed by rebel army commander Colonel Igor Strelkov and carries what appears to be an official stamp
The text of order number 432, pictured here, says in Russian: 'To all detachments of Donetsk People's Republic army, to soldiers and commanders who from 18 to 21 July 2014 in the area where the Boeing 777 of Malaysian airlines crashed and who possess personal belongings related to this airplane.
'Before 8 pm on 23 July 2014 you must give these things away to the headquarters of DPR army. Valuable items (watches, earrings, lockets and other jewellery) must be sent to the DPR Defence Fund.'
It is signed by rebel army commander Colonel Igor Strelkov, and carries what appears to be an official stamp.
The alleged order has been posted on social media websites in Ukraine and Russia.
If true, it would confirm claims by Kiev officials that the bodies were looted.
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Children walk past a piece of wreckage from the MH17. Military analysts said the size, spread, shape and number of shrapnel impacts visible all point to a missile system like the SA-11 Buk as previously suspected
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Long, sad journey home: Dutch police watch as a plane touches down carrying the bodies of crash victims from Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 at Eindhoven Airport
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Contaminating the crime scene: A pro-Russian militant holds up a stuffed animal as others look on at the MH17 crash site which they have been accused of sabotaging in an attempt to hamper the investigation
However, it is unclear that relatives have complained about this, a point the Russian media has made strongly in alleging these are slurs from the Ukrainian side.
'Gerashchenko said in an interview that he had information that the rebels were cashing the victims credit cards. No complaints from relatives or bank records were produced, of course,' said a commentary from RIA Novosti news agency in Moscow.
Strelkov is alleged by Kiev to be a serving colonel in Russia's GRU military intelligence.
He is accused of fomenting unrest in eastern Ukraine, and was earlier based in Crimea when the Black Sea peninsula was annexed by Russia.
His 'order' is revealed on the day when the first bodies are scheduled to arrive back in Holland.
U.S. INTELLIGENCE CHIEFS SAY PUTIN 'BEARS RESPONSIBILITY' FOR MH17 DISASTER - BUT FIND NO EVIDENCE HE WAS DIRECTLY INVOLVED
Russia 'bears responsibility' for the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, U.S. intelligence officials said, but they offered no evidence that Vladimir Putin was directly involved.
The senior intelligence officials were cautious in their assessment, noting that while the Russians have been arming separatists in eastern Ukraine, the U.S. had no direct evidence that the missile used to shoot down the passenger jet came from Russia.
The plane was probably shot down by an SA-11 surface-to-air missile fired by Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine, the intelligence officials said.
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U.S. intelligence chiefs have found no evidence of Vladimir Putin's direct involvement in the shooting down of MH17 but said Russia 'bears responsibility' for the disaster
They also said that after analysing taped phone conversations between separatists obtained by U.S. intelligence it could be all but concluded that the culprits did not realise they were targeting a commercial airliner.
'Five days into it [following the crash] it does appear to be a mistake,' one official said.
The officials briefed reporters over intelligence related to last week's air disaster, which killed 298 people.
It comes a day after the first pictures emerged of damaged panels from MH17, which appear to show evidence of shrapnel and missile damage.
They cited intercepts, satellite photos and social media postings by separatists, some of which have been authenticated by U.S. experts.
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Separatists previously had shot down 12 Ukrainian military airplanes, the officials said
But the officials said they did not know who fired the missile or whether any Russian operatives were present at the missile launch.
They were not certain that the missile crew was trained in Russia, although they described a stepped-up campaign in recent weeks by Russia to arm and train the rebels, which they say has continued even after the downing of the commercial jetliner.
In terms of who fired the missile, 'we don't know a name, we don't know a rank and we're not even 100% sure of a nationality,' one official said.
White House deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes said the US was still working to determine whether the missile launch had a 'direct link' to Russia, including whether there were Russians on the ground during the attack and the degree to which Russians may have trained the separatists to launch such a strike.
'We do think President Putin and the Russian government bears responsibility for the support they provided to these separatists, the arms they provided to these separatists, the training they provided as well and the general unstable environment in eastern Ukraine,' he said in an interview with CNN.
He added that heavy weaponry continues to flow into Ukraine from Russia following the downing of the plane.
- South African helicopter pilot and father of two killed in MH17 tragedy
- Cameron Dalziel's wife forced to cancel his credit cards
- His brother-in-law says they've been used in Ukraine since crash
- Families tell of their shock after hearing strangers' voices on mobile phones
- UK intelligence chiefs 'uncover evidence rebels planned to sabotage scene'
- Separatists 'considered scattering parts from other planes among debris'
- Rebel commander 'issues decree that proves militants are looting victims'
PUBLISHED: 03:48 GMT, 24 July 2014 | UPDATED: 08:41 GMT, 24 July 2014
The wife of a South African helicopter pilot killed in the MH17 disaster has been forced to cancel his credit cards because they have been used since the plane went down in Ukraine last week.Reine Dalziel's husband Cameron, a South African with a British passport who recently moved his family of four to Malaysia, was on board the Malaysia Airlines jet when it was struck by a missile fired by pro-Russian rebels.
As it emerged that heartless rebels are using victims' credit cards, answering their phones at the crash site and stealing their belongings - including sentimental items such as jewellery - Ms Dalziel's brother Shane Hattingh told CNN his sister was stunned to see activity on her husband's account.
'People are abusing it in the Ukraine,' Mr Hattingh told CNN.
Scroll down for video
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South African helicopter pilot Cameron Dalziel and his wife Reine recently moved to Malaysia with their two children
+18
Cameron Dalziel was killed in the MH17 disaster
+18
A man looks at the debris scattered at the crash site of the downed Malaysia Airlines flight MH17
+18
The crash site of MH17 in a field near the village of Grabove, in the Donetsk region
'They have no respect for each other, look what they're doing.
'It's no surprise that they were treating the remains of people like that. It made me angry beyond words.'
It comes as a series of disturbing new allegations emerged that added further weight to claims pro-Russian rebels looted the MH17 crash scene to sabotage the investigation and cash in on the disaster.
Desperate relatives revealed how they had called the mobile phones of their loves ones - only for them to be answered by strangers with 'eastern European-sounding voices'.
After the initial shock, they immediately called the phone companies to shut down the accounts to prevent them being used, according to reports.
+18
Poignant: Belongings lay scattered at the crash site near the village of Grabove as the first bodies from flight MH17 arrived in the Netherlands for identification
+18
New evidence has also emerged that the rebels allegedly planned to sabotage the investigation by contaminating the site with parts from other planes
At least one picture has emerged which appeared to show a ring being taken by a rebel from a body at the crash site.
And Ukrainian government adviser Anton Gerashchenko has claimed: 'After terrorists looters stole all the cash, jewellery, mobile phones and credit cards of passengers of ill-fated Boeing - they took up their favourite deal - gathering of scrap metal. Aluminum from which made the plane is expensive.'
Two days ago, Andrei Lysenko, spokesman for Ukraine's National Security and Defence Council, claimed: 'The cynicism of these gangsters has no limits.
'According to our information, apart from picking up valuable personal belongings of the passengers, terrorists are using credit cards of the victims.'
The claims, made in Holland's De Telegraaf, adds fuel to reports that crucial evidence has been tampered with after the Malaysian Airlines flight was blown out of the sky, allegedly by the same group of separatists, killing 298 people.
+18
A toy belonging to a child who died in the downed Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 is pictured in a field near the village of Grabove, in the Donetsk region
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Belongings of victims are pictured at the crash site of the Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 in a field near Grabove
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Toys in a bag are pictured at the crash site of the Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, in a field near the village of Grabove, in the Donetsk region
New evidence has also emerged that the rebels allegedly planned to sabotage the investigation by contaminating the site with parts from other planes.
UK intelligence chiefs claim they have uncovered evidence the insurgents also discussed removing bodies from the area and sending the black box data recorders to Moscow, according to Sky News sources in Whitehall.
Alistair Bunkall, Sky's Defence Correspondent, said: 'I think this will play into the fears that many people have that not all of the bodies will be returned, that parts of the plane have been tampered with in order to try and hide any evidence.
'This is all a part of UK intelligence working with intelligence agencies around the world to try and build up a picture not only of what happened at the point of impact, but also what happened in the hours and days that followed on from that.'
Meanwhile, an alleged decree by rebel commander Igor Strelkov appears to admit that the bodies of dead passengers were looted by pro-Russian rebels.
oment rebel finds gold ring while rifling through MH17 wreckage
<center>
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Evidence of looting? The image appears to show a rebel fighter handling a gold ring amid the wreckage
+18
Hunt for clues? A rebel fighter is filmed rifling through the bag of one of the 298 MH17 crash victims
The order says that jewellery, watches and other valuables taken from bodies must be handed in to the 'defence fund' of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic by 8pm on Wednesday 23 July.
Styled like other orders from Strelkov, its veracity could not be immediately established.
But if true, it will be seen as scandalous that the rebels are cashing in on the dead victims of the Malaysian plane widely believed to have been shot down by the same pro-Moscow separatists.
Rather than ordering any looted possessions to be returned to the families, it demands they are taken to Strelkov's headquarters so they can be used to fund the insurgency campaign he is conducting.
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Wants jewellery for 'defence fund': An alleged decree by rebel commander Igor Strelkov (centre) appears to admit that the bodies of dead passengers on MH17 were looted by pro-Russian separatists
+18
'Valuable items must be sent to the DPR Defence Fund': The alleged order (above) is apparently signed by rebel army commander Colonel Igor Strelkov and carries what appears to be an official stamp
The text of order number 432, pictured here, says in Russian: 'To all detachments of Donetsk People's Republic army, to soldiers and commanders who from 18 to 21 July 2014 in the area where the Boeing 777 of Malaysian airlines crashed and who possess personal belongings related to this airplane.
'Before 8 pm on 23 July 2014 you must give these things away to the headquarters of DPR army. Valuable items (watches, earrings, lockets and other jewellery) must be sent to the DPR Defence Fund.'
It is signed by rebel army commander Colonel Igor Strelkov, and carries what appears to be an official stamp.
The alleged order has been posted on social media websites in Ukraine and Russia.
If true, it would confirm claims by Kiev officials that the bodies were looted.
+18
Children walk past a piece of wreckage from the MH17. Military analysts said the size, spread, shape and number of shrapnel impacts visible all point to a missile system like the SA-11 Buk as previously suspected
+18
Long, sad journey home: Dutch police watch as a plane touches down carrying the bodies of crash victims from Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 at Eindhoven Airport
+18
Contaminating the crime scene: A pro-Russian militant holds up a stuffed animal as others look on at the MH17 crash site which they have been accused of sabotaging in an attempt to hamper the investigation
However, it is unclear that relatives have complained about this, a point the Russian media has made strongly in alleging these are slurs from the Ukrainian side.
'Gerashchenko said in an interview that he had information that the rebels were cashing the victims credit cards. No complaints from relatives or bank records were produced, of course,' said a commentary from RIA Novosti news agency in Moscow.
Strelkov is alleged by Kiev to be a serving colonel in Russia's GRU military intelligence.
He is accused of fomenting unrest in eastern Ukraine, and was earlier based in Crimea when the Black Sea peninsula was annexed by Russia.
His 'order' is revealed on the day when the first bodies are scheduled to arrive back in Holland.
U.S. INTELLIGENCE CHIEFS SAY PUTIN 'BEARS RESPONSIBILITY' FOR MH17 DISASTER - BUT FIND NO EVIDENCE HE WAS DIRECTLY INVOLVED
Russia 'bears responsibility' for the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, U.S. intelligence officials said, but they offered no evidence that Vladimir Putin was directly involved.
The senior intelligence officials were cautious in their assessment, noting that while the Russians have been arming separatists in eastern Ukraine, the U.S. had no direct evidence that the missile used to shoot down the passenger jet came from Russia.
The plane was probably shot down by an SA-11 surface-to-air missile fired by Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine, the intelligence officials said.
+18
U.S. intelligence chiefs have found no evidence of Vladimir Putin's direct involvement in the shooting down of MH17 but said Russia 'bears responsibility' for the disaster
They also said that after analysing taped phone conversations between separatists obtained by U.S. intelligence it could be all but concluded that the culprits did not realise they were targeting a commercial airliner.
'Five days into it [following the crash] it does appear to be a mistake,' one official said.
The officials briefed reporters over intelligence related to last week's air disaster, which killed 298 people.
It comes a day after the first pictures emerged of damaged panels from MH17, which appear to show evidence of shrapnel and missile damage.
They cited intercepts, satellite photos and social media postings by separatists, some of which have been authenticated by U.S. experts.
+18
Separatists previously had shot down 12 Ukrainian military airplanes, the officials said
But the officials said they did not know who fired the missile or whether any Russian operatives were present at the missile launch.
They were not certain that the missile crew was trained in Russia, although they described a stepped-up campaign in recent weeks by Russia to arm and train the rebels, which they say has continued even after the downing of the commercial jetliner.
In terms of who fired the missile, 'we don't know a name, we don't know a rank and we're not even 100% sure of a nationality,' one official said.
White House deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes said the US was still working to determine whether the missile launch had a 'direct link' to Russia, including whether there were Russians on the ground during the attack and the degree to which Russians may have trained the separatists to launch such a strike.
'We do think President Putin and the Russian government bears responsibility for the support they provided to these separatists, the arms they provided to these separatists, the training they provided as well and the general unstable environment in eastern Ukraine,' he said in an interview with CNN.
He added that heavy weaponry continues to flow into Ukraine from Russia following the downing of the plane.
