Netherlands calls for Russia to court more than MH17 downing
The Netherlands said on Friday it will require Russia to the European Courtroom of Human Rights because of its role in decreasing Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over Ukraine, killing practically 300 people.
The Dutch government's maneuver is designed to support cases brought by the relatives of dozens of victims to the Strasbourg-based court, Foreign Minister Stef Blok said.
The Boeing 777 travelling from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur was blown out of the sky by a surface-to-air missile fired from rebel-held eastern Ukraine on July 17, 2014.
"Attaining justice for the 298 victims of the downing of flight MH17 is definitely and will stay the government's highest priority," Blok explained in a statement.
"By taking this task today, bringing a case before the ECHR and so helping the applications by the next of kin up to we are able to, we are moving nearer to this goal."
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said at his weekly press conference that Blok had informed Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov of the approach.
There was no immediate reaction from Moscow.
The lawsuit is a rare exemplory case of one state taking another to the European Court of Human being Rights, with just 24 such cases since 1953.
Ten of these so-called "inter-state" conditions involve Russia.
Most conditions are brought by people or groups, such as the 1 lodged by the relatives of at least 65 Dutch MH17 victims in 2018.
Their complaint demanded that Russia take responsibility for the incident.
Both Netherlands and Australia have previously said they hold Russia in charge of shooting down the plane.
HOLLAND would share all "available and relevant info on the downing of flight MH17" with the court, Blok said, adding the complaint would represent "all 298 victims, of 17 different nationalities."
The Dutch may also inform the UN Reliability Council about the approach, he said.
Friday's announcement adds to legal pressure on Moscow following the Dutch criminal trial found in absentia of four suspects opened just exterior Schiphol airport terminal from where in fact the ill-fated flight became popular.
Rutte however denied the timing of the approach was designed to pressurise Russia, telling "we simply decided it now was the best moment to get involved and to give the next-of-kin the utmost support."
"This is not targeted at Russia and stands totally separate from the criminal circumstance," Rutte said at his weekly post-cabinet news meeting.
Prosecutors have charged four people - Russians Igor Girkin, Sergei Dubinskiy and Oleg Pulatov, and Ukrainian Leonid Kharchenko - with murder.
They said the men were in charge of bringing a BUK surface-to-air missile into a location in eastern Ukraine controlled by pro-Moscow rebels, from where it had been fired at the passenger plane.
Russia features denied involvement and features before proposed choice theories including that MH17 might have been downed by a good Ukrainian fighter plane or perhaps a good Ukrainian BUK missile.
Moscow meanwhile taken care of immediately the relatives' claims before the ECHR earlier this season in which it again denied responsibility for the disaster, saying there was no proof of its involvement.
A package of controversial constitutional reforms approved by Russian voters earlier this month, which allow Russian President Vladimir Putin to increase his rule until 2036, also included an amendment that could affect its ties to the European rights court.
The amendment says that Russia's constitution takes precedence over any international rulings. If there is a contradiction, they will not be applied.
Russia could use this to justify closing its obligation to handle rulings by international courts like the ECHR, which happens to be the last holiday resort for most Russians. - AFP
