European Court Finds Russia Responsible for Human Rights Violations and MH17 Downing in Ukraine Conflict

A leading European court ruled on Wednesday that Russia has perpetrated extensive human rights abuses in its backing of separatists in eastern Ukraine since 2014, including the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 that same year and during its invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), an entity of the Council of Europe, determined that Moscow was accountable for «extrajudicial killings of civilians and Ukrainian military personnel» outside of combat zones, alongside instances of «torture,» «forced labor,» «arbitrary and unlawful detention,» and theft.

The panel of 17 judges also concluded that Russia violated human rights by transferring Ukrainian children to its territory and organizing their adoptions in numerous cases.

The ECHR mandated that Russia must «without delay» release or ensure the safe return of all civilians unlawfully detained in the occupied regions of Ukraine. It further urged Moscow to assist in identifying children transferred from Ukraine prior to September 2022 and to facilitate their reunification with their families.

In response, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stated that Russia would disregard the ruling, deeming it «null and void.»

While the ruling mainly holds symbolic significance, as Russia was expelled from the Council of Europe after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and subsequently withdrew from the European Convention on Human Rights in September of that year, the court still considers cases against Russia that were lodged prior to its departure.

This ruling stemmed from four cases: three initiated by Ukraine detailing events from 2014 to 2022, and one brought by the Netherlands regarding the MH17 incident on July 17, 2014. The aircraft, traveling from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, was shot down over eastern Ukraine, resulting in the death of all 298 individuals on board.

The UN’s civil aviation authority has attributed responsibility for the disaster to Russia.

The ECHR found that the anguish experienced by the victims’ families constituted a violation of the right to be free from torture and inhumane or degrading treatment.