Russia is responsible for the downing of flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine in July 2014, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has ruled. This is the first time an international court has ruled on Russia’s responsibility.
The disaster killed 298 people, including 196 Dutch citizens. The Malaysia Airlines flight took off from Amsterdam on July 17, 2014, and was destined for Kuala Lumpur.
The plane was shot down over eastern Ukraine by a Russian Buk missile. That area was controlled by pro-Russian separatists, who were supported by Russia. Russia supplied various weapons, including the missile that hit the plane.
The Court was unanimous in its ruling. The judges find that Russia has treated the relatives inhumanely and thus violated human rights. For example, relatives could not go to the scene of the accident, where their loved ones died, due to restrictions imposed by Russia. Russia also spread a lot of disinformation about the downed plane, which was very painful for relatives.
The judges could not determine exactly who fired the missile. But that is no obstacle for the Court to hold the Russians accountable. It is clear that a Russian soldier or a pro-Russian separatist fired the missile.
The Netherlands had brought the case to the ECHR to obtain justice for the relatives. A conviction should also make compensation possible. The court will determine the amount of that compensation at a later date.
The chance that Russia will also pay the compensation is small. Russia continues to stubbornly deny that it was involved in the downing of MH17 with a Russian Buk missile.
Earlier, a Dutch court also ruled on the downing of MH17. In 2022, the court of The Hague imposed a life sentence on two Russians and a Ukrainian for their role in the death of 298 occupants.
The Russians Sergey Dubinskiy, Igor Girkin and the Ukrainian Leonid Kharchenko were convicted in absentia. Since Russia does not extradite nationals, there is little chance that Dubinskiy and Girkin will ever serve their sentences in the Netherlands. Kharchenko’s whereabouts are unknown.
The Netherlands and Australia had also filed a case with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Council. In May, that council also ruled that Russia is responsible for the downing of MH17.
That ruling could lead to compensation, but it remains to be seen whether it will ever be paid. Russia withdrew from the ICAO Council case in 2024.