By taking the case to the European Court of Human Rights, the Dutch government said it hopes to achieve “truth, justice and accountability” for the 298 victims. The Malaysia Airlines passenger jet was shot down in 2014.
The Dutch government announced on Friday that it will file a suit against Russia at the European Court of Human Rights over Moscow’s alleged role in the 2014 downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 .
The passenger plane was shot down over eastern Ukraine in July 2014, killing the 298 people who were on board. The Netherlands was home to nearly two-thirds of the victims.
The Netherlands has held Russia responsible for the crash, although the Kremlin has denied any involvement.
“Achieving justice for 298 victims of the downing of Flight MH17 is and will remain the government’s highest priority,” Foreign Minister Stef Blok said. “By taking this step today … we are moving closer to this goal.”
In a letter sent to the Dutch parliament announcing the move, the government said it hopes to achieve “truth, justice and accountability” for those who died.
The move is intended to back individual cases that have been brought before the court by relatives of 65 of the Dutch victims.
Criminal trial ongoing
The announcement comes amid an ongoing Dutch criminal trial over the case, which resumed in June following delays due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Prosecutors have charged three Russians and a Ukrainian for shooting down the plane. The four men are being tried in abstentia, since Russia does not extradite its citizens and the Ukrainian defendant is believed to have acquired a Russian passport.
The criminal case follows a six-year investigation into the crash by an international team from the Netherlands, Belgium, Australia, Ukraine and Malaysia.
Everybody on board the Malaysian Airlines flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur were killed. According to the investigators’ findings, a Buk anti-aircraft missile was fired from territory in eastern Ukraine controlled by pro-Moscow separatist rebels and blew the Boeing 777 out of the sky.
DW / Balkantimes.press