Kremlin: Russia has not been informed about MH17 lawsuit filed by the Netherlands
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) did not notify the Russian authorities of the lawsuit against it in connection with the downing of Malaysia Airlines airliner plane over the Donbas in 2014, said the Russian Ministry of Justice in a statement.
"In the event of notification about the complaint, the Russian Ministry of Justice will start the necessary work in cooperation with the competent authorities. Before considering a substantive complaint, the European Court of Human Rights should assess its admissibility with the parties. This stage may take several years," the Russian Ministry of Justice said.
On Friday, July 10, Dutch authorities said they would file a lawsuit with the ECHR to bring Russia to justice "in connection with its role in the downing of MH17."
“Achieving justice for 298 victims of the downing of Flight MH17 is and will remain the government’s highest priority. By taking this step today — bringing a case before the European Court of Human Rights and thus supporting the applications of the next of kin as much as we can — we are moving closer to this goal,” said Dutch Foreign Minister Stef Block.
The Russian Ministry of Justice said that Russia categorically rejects accusations of involvement in the crash of the Boeing 777, which was shot down "in the skies over Ukraine, that is, over the territory against which Russia does not exercise jurisdiction in accordance with the European Convention on Human Rights."
A Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur was shot down over eastern Ukraine on July 17, 2014. All 298 people on board were killed.
The international Joint Investigation Team has concluded that the aircraft was shot down by a 9M38 missile fired from a mobile Buk system in a cultivated field near Pervomaiskyi. At the time, the region was controlled by pro-Russian separatists. The investigators believe that the Buk was brought into Ukraine from Russia and then taken back to Russia after it was used to attack flight MH17.
In June 2019, the names of four suspects in the case were released: Igor “Strelkov” Girkin, Sergey “Gloomy” Dubinsky, Oleg “Caliph” Pulatov, and Leonid “Mole” Kharchenko.
Former DPR militant Vladimir Tsemakh was later also declared a suspect, but Ukraine handed him over to Russia as part of a prisoner exchange.
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) announced that the defendants are suspected of committing “a terrorist act which lead to human deaths”.
After five years of investigation, the JIT has established the exact time and route taken by the Buk anti-air missile system from Russia to Ukraine and back, the time and place where the fatal missile was fired, and obtained information about more than 150 people who were involved in the transportation of the Buk.