Latest news with #Schansman
Yomiuri Shimbun
10-07-2025
- Politics
- Yomiuri Shimbun
European Court Finds Russia Committed Violations in Ukraine and Was behind Downing Flight Mh17
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Europe's top human rights court delivered damning judgments Wednesday against Russia in four cases brought by Kyiv and the Netherlands accusing Moscow of atrocities in Ukraine dating back more than a decade. Judges at the European Court of Human Rights ruled that Russia was responsible for widespread violations of international law — from shooting down Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 in 2014, to the murder, torture, rape, destruction of civilian infrastructure and kidnapping of Ukrainian children after Moscow's full-scale invasion of 2022. Reading the decisions in a packed courtroom in Strasbourg, Court President Mattias Guyomar said Russian forces breached international humanitarian law in Ukraine by carrying out attacks that 'killed and wounded thousands of civilians and created fear and terror.' The Kremlin said it would ignore the largely symbolic judgment, but Ukraine hailed it as 'historic and unprecedented,' saying it was an 'undeniable victory' for the embattled country. The judges found the human rights abuses went beyond any military objective and that Russia used sexual violence as part of a strategy to break Ukrainian morale, the French judge said. 'The use of rape as a weapon of war was an act of extreme atrocity that amounted to torture,' Guyomar said. The 501-page judgment noted that Russia's refusal to participate in the proceedings also was a violation of European Convention of Human Rights, the treaty that underpins the court. Asked about the judgment before the rulings were read, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: 'We won't abide by it, we consider it void.' Families of the victims of the Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 disaster saw the decision as an important milestone in their 11-year quest for justice. Thomas Schansman, whose 18-year-old son, Quinn, was aboard the jetliner, told The Associated Press that the judgment makes clear who caused the disaster. Russia 'is responsible for killing my son,' Schansman said. 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 loyal to Moscow. All 298 passengers and crew were killed, including 196 Dutch citizens. The judges found that Russia's refusal to acknowledge its involvement in the Flight MH17 disaster also violated international law. Russia's failure to properly investigate 'significantly aggravated the suffering' of the relatives and friends of the dead. 'Russia never took any opportunity to tell the truth,' Schansman said. In May, the U.N.'s aviation agency found Russia responsible for the disaster. The separatist conflict that broke out in eastern Ukraine in 2014 killed about 14,000 people before Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022. The ECHR is an important part of the Council of Europe, which is the continent's foremost human rights institution. The court's governing body expelled Moscow in 2022 in response to the all-out invasion. However, the court can still deal with cases against Russia dating from before its expulsion and, legally, the country is still obliged to participate in the proceedings. The court will rule on financial compensation at a later date but Russia's departure leaves little hope that damages will ever be collected. In 2023, the judges sided with Ukraine and the Netherlands in a challenge over jurisdiction, finding there was sufficient evidence to show that areas in eastern Ukraine controlled by separatist rebels were 'under the jurisdiction of the Russian Federation.' That included 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 invasion.
Los Angeles Times
09-07-2025
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
European court finds Russia committed violations in Ukraine and was behind downing Flight MH17
THE HAGUE, Netherlands — Europe's top human rights court delivered damning judgments Wednesday against Russia in four cases brought by Kyiv and the Netherlands accusing Moscow of atrocities in Ukraine dating back more than a decade. Judges at the European Court of Human Rights ruled that Russia was responsible for widespread violations of international law — from shooting down Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 in 2014, to the murder, torture, rape, destruction of civilian infrastructure and kidnapping of Ukrainian children after Moscow's full-scale invasion of 2022. Reading the decisions in a packed courtroom in Strasbourg, Court President Mattias Guyomar said Russian forces breached international humanitarian law in Ukraine by carrying out attacks that 'killed and wounded thousands of civilians and created fear and terror.' The Kremlin said it would ignore the largely symbolic judgment, but Ukraine hailed it as 'historic and unprecedented,' saying it was an 'undeniable victory' for the embattled country. The judges found the human rights abuses went beyond any military objective and that Russia used sexual violence as part of a strategy to break Ukrainian morale, the French judge said. 'The use of rape as a weapon of war was an act of extreme atrocity that amounted to torture,' Guyomar said. The 501-page judgment noted that Russia's refusal to participate in the proceedings also was a violation of European Convention of Human Rights, the treaty that underpins the court. Asked about the judgment before the rulings were read, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: 'We won't abide by it, we consider it void.' Families of the victims of the Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 disaster saw the decision as an important milestone in their 11-year quest for justice. Thomas Schansman, whose 18-year-old son, Quinn, was aboard the jetliner, told The Associated Press that the judgment makes clear who caused the disaster. Russia 'is responsible for killing my son,' Schansman said. 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 loyal to Moscow. All 298 passengers and crew were killed, including 196 Dutch citizens. The judges found that Russia's refusal to acknowledge its involvement in the Flight MH17 disaster also violated international law. Russia's failure to properly investigate 'significantly aggravated the suffering' of the relatives and friends of the dead. 'Russia never took any opportunity to tell the truth,' Schansman said. In May, the U.N.'s aviation agency found Russia responsible for the disaster. The separatist conflict that broke out in eastern Ukraine in 2014 killed about 14,000 people before Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022. The ECHR is an important part of the Council of Europe, which is the continent's foremost human rights institution. The court's governing body expelled Moscow in 2022 in response to the all-out invasion. However, the court can still deal with cases against Russia dating from before its expulsion and, legally, the country is still obliged to participate in the proceedings. The court will rule on financial compensation at a later date but Russia's departure leaves little hope that damages will ever be collected. In 2023, the judges sided with Ukraine and the Netherlands in a challenge over jurisdiction, finding there was sufficient evidence to show that areas in eastern Ukraine controlled by separatist rebels were 'under the jurisdiction of the Russian Federation.' That included 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 Zelensky formally approved plans to set up a new international court to prosecute senior Russian officials for the invasion. Quell writes for the Associated Press.
Yahoo
06-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Russia's Sberbank disagrees with US court allowing MH17 case to move forward
(Reuters) - Russian state-owned lender Sberbank on Thursday said it disagreed with a U.S. court's decision to reject the bank's right to sovereign immunity in a case brought by the family of a victim of the 2014 MH17 airline disaster. Sberbank said it would continue to fight the case. The U.S. court ruled on Tuesday that the family of American Quinn Schansman, who was killed when a Malaysian Airlines plane was shot down over Ukraine in 2014, can sue Russia's largest bank for allegedly providing money transfers to a group blamed for downing the plane. See for yourself — The Yodel is the go-to source for daily news, entertainment and feel-good stories. By signing up, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy. "We have studied the judgement in our appeal, which took the U.S. Court of Appeals more than 14 months to issue," Sberbank said. "Sberbank does not agree with it and will continue to defend its interests in this case." In a 3-0 decision, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan said Sberbank was not entitled to sovereign immunity, after being accused of using the U.S. banking system to funnel donor money to the Russia-backed separatist group Donetsk People's Republic (DPR). Schansman was 18 when he boarded the flight to Kuala Lumpur from Amsterdam on July 17, 2014, for a planned family vacation. The plane was shot down over DPR-controlled territory in eastern Ukraine by a surface-to-air missile, killing all 298 people on board. Russia has denied involvement. Ukraine had previously declared the DPR a terrorist organization, while the United States had imposed sanctions on the group.
Reuters
06-02-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Russia's Sberbank disagrees with US court allowing MH17 case to move forward
Feb 6 (Reuters) - Russian state-owned lender Sberbank ( opens new tab on Thursday said it disagreed with a U.S. court's decision to reject the bank's right to sovereign immunity in a case brought by the family of a victim of the 2014 MH17 airline disaster. Sberbank said it would continue to fight the case. The U.S. court ruled on Tuesday that the family of American Quinn Schansman, who was killed when a Malaysian Airlines plane was shot down over Ukraine in 2014, can sue Russia's largest bank for allegedly providing money transfers to a group blamed for downing the plane. "We have studied the judgement in our appeal, which took the U.S. Court of Appeals more than 14 months to issue," Sberbank said. "Sberbank does not agree with it and will continue to defend its interests in this case." In a 3-0 decision, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan said Sberbank was not entitled to sovereign immunity, after being accused of using the U.S. banking system to funnel donor money to the Russia-backed separatist group Donetsk People's Republic (DPR). Schansman was 18 when he boarded the flight to Kuala Lumpur from Amsterdam on July 17, 2014, for a planned family vacation. The plane was shot down over DPR-controlled territory in eastern Ukraine by a surface-to-air missile, killing all 298 people on board. Russia has denied involvement. Ukraine had previously declared the DPR a terrorist organization, while the United States had imposed sanctions on the group.
Yahoo
04-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Family of American killed on Malaysian Airlines flight can sue Russian bank, US court rules
By Jonathan Stempel NEW YORK (Reuters) - The family of an American killed when a Malaysian Airlines plane was shot down over Ukraine in 2014 can sue Russia's largest bank for allegedly providing money transfers to a group blamed for downing the plane, a U.S. appeals court ruled on Tuesday. In a 3-0 decision, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan said state-controlled Sberbank was not entitled to sovereign immunity, after being accused of using the U.S. banking system to funnel donor money to the Russia-backed separatist group Donetsk People's Republic. See for yourself — The Yodel is the go-to source for daily news, entertainment and feel-good stories. By signing up, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy. A U.S.-based lawyer for Sberbank had no immediate comment. Sberbank was not immediately available for comment after business hours in Moscow. The case was brought by the family of Quinn Schansman, who was 18 when he boarded Malaysian flight MH17 to Kuala Lumpur from Amsterdam on July 17, 2014, for a planned family vacation. The flight was shot down over DPR-controlled territory in eastern Ukraine by a surface-to-air missile, killing all 298 people on board. Russia has denied involvement. Ukraine had previously declared the DPR a terrorist organization, while the United States had imposed sanctions on the group. Schansman's family sued Sberbank, another Russian bank and two U.S. money transfer companies in April 2019, saying they should be liable for doing business with the DPR. A year later, Russia's Ministry of Finance bought a majority stake in Sberbank from the country's central bank. In Tuesday's decision, Circuit Judge Joseph Bianco called Sberbank's alleged handling of money transfers "quintessentially commercial activity," triggering an exception to protections under the federal Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA). Sberbank had argued it deserved a presumption of immunity as a state agency or instrumentality. The bank also said another U.S. law, the Anti-Terrorism Act, provided immunity regardless of when it came under state control, with no exception for commercial activity. Bianco disagreed. He said the FSIA comprehensively governed sovereign immunity in civil cases, and its framework was not "silently repealed" by the anti-terrorism law. Adopting Sberbank's position, the judge wrote, would negate Congress' intent to give civil litigants the "broadest possible" legal basis to sue entities that materially support foreign entities that engage in terrorism against the United States. Jenner & Block, a law firm representing the Schansman family, welcomed the court's rejection of what it called Russia's effort to immunize Sberbank by "strategically acquiring" a majority stake. "We look forward to pursuing further evidence of Sberbank's wrongdoing in the district court and finally achieving justice for the Schansman family," the firm said. The case is Schansman et al v Sberbank of Russia PJSC, 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 22-3097.
