Europe’s human rights court finds Russia committed violations in Ukraine
and was behind Flight MH17
[July 09, 2025]
By MOLLY QUELL
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Europe’s top human rights court delivered
two rulings against Russia Wednesday, stating in the first ruling that
Russia violated international law during the conflict in Ukraine, the
first time an international court has found Moscow responsible for human
rights abuses since the full-scale invasion in 2022.
The court also ruled Russia was behind the downing of Flight MH17, the
first time Moscow was named by an international court as being
responsible for the 2014 tragedy that claimed 298 lives.
Judges at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg are ruling on
four cases brought by Ukraine and the Netherlands against Russia,
encompassing a wide range of alleged human rights violations during the
full-scale invasion since the start of the war, including the downing of
the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 and kidnapping Ukrainian
children.
Any decision will be largely symbolic. The complaints were brought
before the court's governing body expelled Moscow in 2022, following the
full-scale invasion.
Families of the victims of the MH17 disaster see the decision as an
important milestone in their 11-year quest for justice.
“It's a real step in understanding who was really responsible,” Thomas
Schansman, who lost his 18-year-old son Quinn in the tragedy, told The
Associated Press.
The Boeing 777 flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur was shot down on
July 17, 2014, using a Russian-made Buk missile fired from territory in
eastern Ukraine controlled by separatist rebels. All 298 passengers and
crew were killed, including 196 Dutch citizens.
In May, the U.N.’s aviation agency found Russia responsible for the
disaster.
The ECHR is an important part of the Council of Europe, which is the
continent’s foremost human rights institution. Russia was expelled from
the council over Moscow’s invasion and war in Ukraine. However, the
court can still deal with cases against Russia dating from before its
expulsion.
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Local citizens, background, look at the site of a crashed Malaysia
Airlines passenger plane near the village of Hrabove, Ukraine, on
July 18, 2014. (AP Photo, File)
In 2023, the judges sided with Ukraine and the Netherlands in a
challenge over jurisdiction, finding there was sufficient evidence
to show areas in eastern Ukraine controlled by separatist rebels
were “under the jurisdiction of the Russian Federation,” including
providing weapons, and giving political and economic support.
Wednesday’s rulings won’t be the last from the EHCR dealing with the
war. Kyiv has other cases pending against Russia and there are
nearly 10,000 cases brought by individuals against the Kremlin.
The decisions in Strasbourg are separate from a criminal prosecution
in the Netherlands in which two Russians and a Ukrainian rebel were
convicted in absentia of multiple murders for their roles in the
downing of Flight MH17.
In 2022, the United Nations' top court ordered Russia to stop
military operations in Ukraine while a case is heard, a process that
takes years. Russia has flouted the order by the International Court
of Justice.
Last month, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy formally
approved plans to set up a new international court to prosecute
senior Russian officials for the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Schansman, who has also brought an individual case to the ECHR, has
no plans to stop pursuing justice, more than a decade after his
son's death. “The worst thing we could to is stop fighting,” he told
the AP. “MH17 is not a case that will disappear for Russia.”
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