Canada, Ukraine joins MH17 lawsuit against Russia

Ukraine and Canada have joined a lawsuit relatives of people killed in the MH17 disaster filed against Russia at the European Court of Human Rights, Sander de Lang, one of the lawyers representing relatives in this case, confirmed to NU.nl after a report in AD.

The surviving relatives filed the complaint against Russia in 2016, holding the country liable for downing the Malaysia Airlines flight over eastern Ukraine on 17 July 2014. On April 4th, the European Court of Human Rights announced that it would handle the complaint.

The Dutch government already joined this lawsuit in May. Of the 298 people who were killed in the disaster, 196 were Dutch. The case could lead to compensation. Belgium said it would not participate in this case. The United Kingdom and Germany are still considering, according to NU.nl.

This case is separate from the criminal proceedings against four men suspected of involvement in the MH17 downing, which the Joint Investigation Team announced last month. The criminal trial against the three Russian and one Ukrainian suspects will start in The Hague in March next year.