Court finds Russia liable for 2014 passenger plane crash | WORLD
Logo
Sound journalism, grounded in facts and Biblical truth | Donate

Court finds Russia liable for 2014 passenger plane crash


A pro-Russian rebel stands by the wreckage of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17. Associated Press / Vadim Ghirda, File

Court finds Russia liable for 2014 passenger plane crash

The European Court of Human Rights on Wednesday ruled that Russia has committed numerous human rights violations in Ukraine over more than a decade. As part of the ruling, judges found that Russians, and Ukrainian separatists who sided with Russia, were responsible for shooting down Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 in July 2014.

Litigation has continued more than a decade after the crash. All 298 people on board, mostly citizens of the Netherlands, died, and a Dutch inquiry determined that a Russian-made surface-to-air missile brought down the passenger jet. The flight departed Amsterdam for Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, before separatists shot it down over eastern Ukraine, the inquiry found. A Dutch court in 2022 convicted two Russian men and one pro-Russia Ukrainian man for their involvement in the incident.

What else did the court say? The international court on Wednesday said Russia’s human rights abuses went beyond military objectives and were used to break Ukrainian morale. The judges ruled against Russia in four cases that included allegations of murder, torture, rape, kidnapping Ukrainian children, and destroying civilian infrastructure. It is the first time Russia has been found guilty of human rights violations by an international court since it invaded Ukraine in 2022.

The Kremlin said it would ignore the largely symbolic judgment, according to the Associated Press.

Dig deeper: From the WORLD archives, read Leigh Jones’ report in The Sift on when first responders found the flight.


Lauren Canterberry

Lauren Canterberry is a reporter for WORLD. She graduated from the World Journalism Institute and the University of Georgia with a degree in journalism, both in 2017. She worked as a local reporter in Texas and now lives in Georgia with her husband.


An actual newsletter worth subscribing to instead of just a collection of links. —Adam

Sign up to receive The Sift email newsletter each weekday morning for the latest headlines from WORLD’s breaking news team.
COMMENT BELOW

Please wait while we load the latest comments...

Comments