Dutch Government to File Lawsuit against Russia over Downing of MH17

The Dutch government said it would file a lawsuit against the Russian Federation at the European Court of Human Rights over MH17 the Malaysian Airlines flight shot out of the sky over Donbas.

This decision was announced by the press service of the Dutch government.

“The Government today decided to sue Russia in the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) for its role in the downing of MH17 flight. With this ‘intergovernmental’ complaint, the Netherlands stand up for all 298 MH17 victims, of 17 different nationalities, and their relatives. Achieving justice for 298 victims of flight MH17 and their relatives is and will remain the top priority for the government. By bringing the case to the ECtHR and thereby supporting the statements of close relatives, we are getting closer to our goal,” the document says.

The government of the Netherlands also noted that the country attaches great importance to meetings with representatives of the Russian Federation about its responsibility for the disaster. The purpose of these meetings is “to find a solution that justifies the enormous suffering and damage caused by the fall of flight MH17.”

The UN Security Council has also been informed of the Dutch government’s intention to file a lawsuit against Russia.

The Malaysia Airlines Boeing-777 MH17 passenger flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur was shot out of the sky over the occupied Donbas on 17 July 2014. There were 283 passengers and 15 crew members onboard. They all died.

A Dutch-led international Joint Investigation team (JIT) has concluded that the Boeing aircraft was shot down by a missile fired from the Buk anti-aircraft missile launcher near the town of Snizhne. The missile launcher was delivered to Ukraine from Russia, and after the plane had been downed it was returned to the territory of the Russian Federation.

Bohdan Marusyak