Russia Shot Down Flight MH17 Killing 298 People, Rules Top Europe Court

Europe's top human rights court found that Russia "shot down" Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17, killing all 283 passengers and 15 crew members. Judges at the European Court of Human Rights on Wednesday also delivered damning judgments against Russia in three other cases brought by Kyiv and the Netherlands accusing Moscow of atrocities in Ukraine dating back more than a decade.

Malaysia Airlines' Boeing 777--from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur--was shot down on July 17, 2014, using a Russian-made Buk missile fired from territory in eastern Ukraine controlled by separatist rebels loyal to Moscow. 

Reading the judgment in a courtroom in Strasbourg, the court's president, Mattias Guyomar, said that the "evidence suggested that the missile had been intentionally fired at flight MH17, most likely in the mistaken belief that it had been a military aircraft."

The judges found that Russia's refusal to acknowledge its involvement in the Flight MH17 disaster violated international law. It said that Moscow's failure to properly investigate the matter "significantly aggravated the suffering" of the relatives and friends of the dead.

In May, the UN's aviation agency also found Russia responsible for the disaster.

Other Ruling Against Russia

The Court also found Russia guilty of murder, torture, rape, destruction of civilian infrastructure and kidnapping of Ukrainian children after Moscow's full-scale invasion of 2022.

Guyomar said Russian forces breached international humanitarian law in Ukraine by carrying out attacks that "killed and wounded thousands of civilians and created fear and terror."

The court also found the human rights abuses went beyond any military objective and that Russia used sexual violence as part of a strategy to break Ukrainian morale, the French judge said.

"The use of rape as a weapon of war was an act of extreme atrocity that amounted to torture," Guyomar said.

The 501-page judgment noted that Russia's refusal to participate in the proceedings also was a violation of the European Convention of Human Rights, the treaty that underpins the court.

About The Court

The ECHR is an important part of the Council of Europe, which is the continent's foremost human rights institution. The court's governing body expelled Moscow in 2022 in response to the all-out invasion. However, the court can still deal with cases against Russia dating from before its expulsion, and, legally, the country is still obliged to participate in the proceedings.

The court will rule on financial compensation at a later date, but Russia's departure leaves little hope that damages will ever be collected.

Russia And Ukraine's Reaction

Asked about the judgment before the rulings were read, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: "We won't abide by it, we consider it void."

While the Kremlin said it would ignore the largely symbolic judgment, Ukraine hailed it as "historic and unprecedented," saying it was an "undeniable victory" for the embattled country.
 

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