Relatives of those killed in the MH17 crash suing Russia
Radio Livery reports, citing the Netherlands media, that relatives of the 55 victims who died in the crash of the Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 in 2014 in the Donbas airspace filed a suit against Russia in the European Court of Human Rights.
“Russia has not provided vital information to an international group of investigators. Furthermore, the facts provided by them ended up being incorrect,” the media writes citing the relatives’ lawyer.
In 2016 relatives of the victims from Australia, Malaysia, and New Zealand sued the Russian citizen and former “Minister of Defense” of the so-called DPR, Igor Strelkov (Girkin).
They accused Strelkov of organizing the missile strike against a passenger aircraft. According to the claim, he either personally supervised or gave the order for this missile strike.
The relatives of the victims claim that the head of the militant group participated in the conflict against Ukraine with the “Kremlin’s blessing.” The relatives of the victims are seeking $900 million in compensation from Girkin.
The Boeing 777 aircraft belonging to Malaysia Airlines, flight MH17 left Amsterdam, the Netherlands for Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia and was shot down over the Donbas on July 17th, 2014. All 298 passengers died.
The Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 flight MH17 was shot down on July 17, 2014 over separatist-held territory of the Donetsk region. All 298 people on board were killed. Passengers of the flight included citizens of 10 countries. Most of the victims (196 people) were citizens of the Netherlands.
The Joint Investigation Team (JIT)—which includes representatives from Australia, Belgium, Malaysia, the Netherlands, and Ukraine—has carried out criminal investigation of the tragedy. The countries participating in the investigation have agreed not to create a separate tribunal and decided that those responsible would be brought before the Dutch court.
On May 24, 2018, the JIT presented additional evidence of Russia’s crucial role in the tragic air disaster. The JIT concluded that the Buk ground-to-air missile system that shot down the passenger airplane was in service of the 53rd anti-aircraft missile brigade of the Russian Armed Forces stationed in Kursk.
On May 25, the Dutch government took steps to hold Russia accountable for the crash of flight MH17, a process which will be managed separately from prosecuting the perpetrators.
Australia stated it will seek payment of compensation from Russia to the families of the MH17 crash victims.
The President of Ukraine instructed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to immediately submit proposals on joining the Netherlands-Australia-initiated case against Russia at the interstate level in connection with this air disaster.