European Court of Human Rights rules Russia was responsible for shooting down MH17 over Ukraine

Russia is officially responsible for the deaths of 298 people on board MH17 – including 38 Australians – after a European court found they shot it down with a missile over Ukraine.

A top European court has ruled Russia downed MH17 in a decision deemed a “victory on the international stage.”

All 298 passengers and crew on board the plane – including 38 Australians – were killed after the aircraft was shot from Ukrainian skies with a missile.

Ukrainian rescue servicemen look through the wreckage. Picture: Getty Images

The European Court of Human Rights, part of the Council of Europe rights body, is tasked with implementing the European human rights convention in signatory countries.

Russia was expelled from the council in 2022 after invading Ukraine.

The majority of passengers on MH17 were Dutch and the court’s ruling came after the Netherlands filed a complaint over the horrors which befell the flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur on July 17, 2014.

Evie, Mo and Otis Maslin of Perth were all killed on the flight.

The UN’s aviation agency has long blamed Moscow for the tragedy, as have Australian authorities.

The ECHR found that “the suffering of the next of kin of the victims of the downing of flight MH17” violated the right to freedom from torture and punishment.

Ukraine celebrated what it said was a “historic decision”.

Its justice ministry said the court’s recognition of “systematic and widespread human rights violations committed by Russia” was a “victory on the international stage”.

Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof said it was “an important step toward justice”.

Toowoomba’s Roger and Jill Guard died on the plane.

“The court has designated Russia as responsible for the downing of MH17 and the death of its passengers, including 196 Dutch nationals,” he said.

Usually individuals file cases at Europe’s top human rights court, appealing to it as a last resort in cases where they have exhausted all domestic legal avenues.

But governments also can file complaints in what are known as interstate cases.

The court also found Russia committed a string of human rights violations in backing anti-Kyiv separatists in eastern Ukraine from 2014 and in invading Ukraine in 2022.

Ukrainians left flowers and plush toys at the crash site. Picture: AFP

A panel of 17 judges found Russia violated the convention through “extrajudicial killing of civilians and Ukrainian military personnel” outside of combat, “torture”, “forced labour”, “unlawful and arbitrary detention of civilians” as well as looting.

The judges also ruled that Russia had violated the European rights convention through “the transfer to Russia and, in many cases, the adoption there of Ukrainian children”.

The court said Russia “must without delay release or safely return all persons who were deprived of liberty on Ukrainian territory under occupation by the Russian and Russian-controlled forces.”

Relatives of Australian MH17 victims (from L to R) Meryn O'Brien and Jon O'Brien who lost their son Jack, Matthew Horder who lost his parents Susan and Howard, Paul Guard and his sister Amanda Koopman who lost their parents Jill and Roger. Picture: Getty Images

It added that Moscow should co-operate in the establishment of an international and independent mechanism to help identify “all children transferred from Ukraine to Russia and Russian-controlled territory” before September 2022 to restore contact between them and their families, and enable their safe reunification.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Wednesday said Russia had no intention of complying with the decision of the court, whose rulings it considered to be “null and void”.

– with AFP

Originally published as European Court of Human Rights rules Russia was responsible for shooting down MH17 over Ukraine