Ukraine May Join the Netherlands Lawsuit against Russia in the Case of the Downed MH17 Aircraft

The Ministry of Justice of Ukraine is considering joining the lawsuit of the Netherlands in the European Court of Human Rights in the case of the downed Boeing MH17 aircraft over Donbas in 2014.

This was stated by Deputy of General Prosecutor of Ukraine Gunduz Mamedov, noting that in case of accepting this decision, prosecutors are ready to continue to coordinate efforts and positions and assist diplomats in their work.

He also said that the International Joint Investigation Team (JIT), which is investigating the destruction of the aircraft, does not stop working, gathering evidence of involvement of various people in this crime, despite the trial of four main participants in the case.

“The task and goal … have not changed – bringing to justice all those responsible for downing of MH17 aircraft,” said the prosecutor.

He also said that the case of the crash of a Malaysian passenger plane was adjourned until 3 November due to the visit of lawyers of one of the suspects to Russia. This is Oleg Pulatov, who is suspected of transporting the Buk anti-aircraft missile system to the territory of Ukraine.

According to Mamedov, the visit of Pulatov’s defenders to Russia for consultations with him is the most important event in terms of progress in this case, as all parties can now get acquainted with the version of events from the Russian.

At the same time, the Ukrainian prosecutor added that Ukraine “does not see any problems” in working with Malaysian investigators, despite the fact that the country’s authorities had previously given a rather contradictory assessment of the results of the JIT investigation. Mamedov argues that communication and work at JIT “is based on the principles of mutual trust and professionalism; we are working for one result.”

Bohdan Marusyak