Europe’s top human rights court ruled Wednesday that it can adjudicate on cases brought by the Netherlands and Ukraine against Russia for alleged rights violations in eastern Ukraine in 2014, including the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17.
The European Court of Human Rights is an important part of the Council of Europe, which is the continent’s foremost human rights institution. Russia was expelled from the council last year in an unprecedented move over Moscow’s invasion and war in Ukraine. However, the court can still deal with cases against Russia dating from before its expulsion.
Ben Emmerson, a lawyer who represented Ukraine at court hearings, said the court ruled it has jurisdiction “to hold Russia accountable, to make legally binding findings of Russian culpability and to award reparations for Russian war crimes, including the murder of Ukrainian civilians, the shooting down of the passenger Flight MH17, the torture and murder of prisoners of war, the destruction and unlawful appropriation of private property, the kidnapping by Russian forces of three groups of orphaned children, and their compulsory transfer to Russia.”
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