The Netherlands considers inviting other countries to join MH17 lawsuit against Russia
The Netherlands plans to involve other countries in the lawsuit against Russia in the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in the case of the downed MH17 downed airliner, said Ukrainian Ambassador to the Netherlands Vsevolod Chentsov, as cited by Ukrinform.
In particular, the judicial process can involve states whose citizens died in the plane crash.
"The Dutch side is considering the possibility of other countries joining this process. In particular, the CIS member states and the states whose citizens died as a result of the downing of the plane," Chentsov said.
According to him, the expediency of Ukraine's participation in the initiated case will be taken into account. In particular, such lawsuits will be considered as the case "Ukraine v. Russia" in the International Court of Justice and the previously initiated by Ukraine interstate lawsuit against Russia in the ECHR, involving the government bodies that conduct these cases, respectively, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry and the Ministry of Justice.
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.