Hague Court Says MH17 Crash Connected To Non-International Armed Conflict In Ukraine

The Hague District Court ruled that the crash of the MH17 plane is connected to a non-international armed conflict in Ukraine, Judge Hendrik Steenhuis said on Thursday

SCHIPHOL (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 17th November, 2022) The Hague District Court ruled that the crash of the MH17 plane is connected to a non-international armed conflict in Ukraine, Judge Hendrik Steenhuis said on Thursday.

"The use of weapons by military personnel of one of the parties during an international armed conflict would be justified. They could have invoked immunity and could not have been prosecuted for the use of weapons and the consequences... However, a non-international conflict that goes on between a state and a group can also be considered international if another state controls one of the parties," the judge said, adding that an armed conflict can become an international one if it develops between two states.

Steenhuis said that Russia allegedly had influence on the DPR militia by appointing its own people to key posts.

"The court believes that since April 2014 the armed conflict in eastern Ukraine between the Ukrainian military and organized separatist groups has been so intense that we can talk about a non-international armed conflict in this case," the judge said.

The MH17 flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur crashed near the city of Donetsk on July 17, 2014. All 298 passengers and crew members were killed. The interim conclusions presented by the Dutch-led JIT, which does not include Russia, suggested that the plane was downed by a Russian-made Buk missile originating with a military brigade stationed in the Russian city of Kursk. Moscow said that the allegations of Russia's ties to the crash were groundless, adding that the investigation was biased and one-sided.

The trial regarding the MH17 crash began on March 9, 2020, in the Netherlands. Three Russian citizens, and one Ukrainian citizen are defendants in the case. The trial on the merits started on June 8, 2021.