MH17 Flight: the European Court of Human Rights Registered a Lawsuit against Russia

The European Court of Human Rights was informed that they had previously received lawsuits against Russia about the downing of MH17 aircraft from private individuals, relatives of the victims of the aircraft crash. And this time the lawsuit was filed by one state against another state.

“On July 10, 2020, the government of the Netherlands filed an interstate lawsuit against the Russian Federation in accordance with Article 33 (Interstate Affairs) of the European Convention on Human Rights. The interstate lawsuit was registered under №28525/20,” the ECHR stated.

The Government of the Netherlands claims the Russian Government is responsible for the deaths of 298 people and that it has violated Article 2 (right to life), Article 3 (prohibition of torture and inhuman or degrading behaviour) and Article 13 (right to an effective remedy) of the European Convention on Human Rights. In turn, the Russian Federation has repeatedly denied its involvement in the downing of the aircraft.

As a reminder,  the passenger Boeing-777 of the Malaysian airlines was downed over the occupied part of Donbas on 17 July 2014. There were 283 passengers on board, including 196 Dutch citizens and 15 crew members. All of them died.

Natalia Tolub