Latest news with #anti-Kyiv
Time of India
10-07-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Russia responsible for MH17 shooting, killing 298 on board, rules Europe's human rights court
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) on Wednesday, July 9, ruled that Russia was responsible for the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 in 2014, which killed all 298 people on board. The unanimous judgment also found Russia responsible for extensive violations of international law by supporting anti-Kyiv separatists in eastern Ukraine since 2014, the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 that same year, and the invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The MH17 flight, en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, was shot down on July 17, 2014, over eastern Ukraine, a region then controlled by pro-Russian separatists. Also Read: W ho is UN special rapporteur Francesca Albanese and why has US sanctioned her The Boeing 777 was struck by a missile fired from a Russian-made Buk system. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Costco Shoppers Say This Wrinkle Cream Is "Actually Worth It" The Skincare Magazine Undo The ECHR said Russia was responsible for the actions of both its military forces and allied separatist fighters. The court ruled that the missile was likely fired under the mistaken belief that the plane was a military aircraft, but that Russia failed to take the required precautions to verify its target, violating international humanitarian law. Live Events Russia's refusal and its consequences Russia has repeatedly denied any role in the incident. It also refused to cooperate with international investigations or respond to court inquiries. The ECHR said this lack of cooperation and denial caused additional suffering for the families of the victims and further violated human rights obligations. The judgment stated that Moscow did not properly investigate the incident or offer any legal remedy to survivors and relatives. It added that Russia's continued denial 'significantly aggravated the suffering' of those left behind. Beyond MH17, the ECHR also found Russia responsible for a series of grave human rights violations in Ukraine starting from 2014. These include indiscriminate attacks, summary executions of civilians, torture, sexual violence, and forced displacement. The court said these acts were part of a 'systematic' pattern by Russian forces and their proxies. Political reaction Ukraine hailed the ruling as 'historic and unprecedented,' calling it a legal and moral victory. Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp said he hoped the verdict would offer 'a sense of justice and recognition' for the victims' families, most of whom were Dutch nationals. Meanwhile, the Kremlin dismissed the ruling. Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov called the verdict 'null and void' and said Russia would not abide by it. Although Russia was expelled from the Council of Europe in 2022 following its invasion of Ukraine, the ECHR still has jurisdiction over cases involving Russia from before that time. The court will decide later on whether Russia must pay financial compensation, though the chances of enforcement remain slim. Background A Dutch court in 2022 convicted two Russians and a Ukrainian of murder in connection to MH17. They were tried in absentia and remain at large. In May 2025, the UN's International Civil Aviation Organization also found Russia responsible for the downing of MH17. The victims of MH17 came from 17 countries, including 198 Dutch, 43 Malaysians, 38 Australians, and 10 British citizens.
IOL News
09-07-2025
- Politics
- IOL News
Top European court rules Russia committed abuses in Ukraine, downed MH17 flight
A top European court has ruled that Russia committed human rights violations. Image: Picture: Menahem Kahana / AFP A top European court on Wednesday ruled that Russia committed a string of human rights violations in backing anti-Kyiv separatists in eastern Ukraine from 2014, in the downing of the MH17 flight that year and in invading Ukraine in 2022. The European Court of Human Rights, part of the Council of Europe rights body, is tasked with implementing the European human rights convention in signatory countries. Wednesday's largely symbolic ruling comes after the Council of Europe excluded Russia following its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and Moscow dropped out of the European rights convention in September that year. The ECHR however still handles cases against Russia that were brought before that date. A panel of 17 judges found Russia violated the convention through "extrajudicial killing of civilians and Ukrainian military personnel" outside of combat, "torture", "forced labour", "unlawful and arbitrary detention of civilians" as well as looting. The judges also ruled that Russia had violated the European rights convention through "the transfer to Russia and, in many cases, the adoption there of Ukrainian children". The court said Russia "must without delay release or safely return all persons who were deprived of liberty on Ukrainian territory under occupation by the Russian and Russian-controlled forces." It added that Moscow should cooperate in the establishment of an international and independent mechanism to help identify "all children transferred from Ukraine to Russia and Russian-controlled territory" before September 2022 to restore contact between them and their families, and enable their safe reunification. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Wednesday said Russia had no intention of complying with the decision of the court, whose rulings it considered to be "null and void". 'Historic' The court issued its verdict in response to four complaints. Ukraine had filed three of these over events from 2014 to 2022, and the Netherlands had filed a fourth over the downing over eastern Ukraine of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur on July 17, 2014. The UN's aviation agency has blamed Moscow for the tragedy that killed all 298 on board. The ECHR found that "the suffering of the next of kin of the victims of the downing of flight MH17" violated the right to freedom from torture and punishment. Ukraine celebrated what it said was a "historic decision". Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad loading Its justice ministry said the court's recognition of "systematic and widespread human rights violations committed by Russia" was a "victory on the international stage". Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof said it was "an important step toward justice". "The court has designated Russia as responsible for the downing of MH17 and the death of its passengers, including 196 Dutch nationals," he said. Piet Ploeg, who lost his brother, step-sister and nephew in the tragedy, said it was an "important day". "I don't think Russia will pay anything but it is not about money today," he said. "It is about getting justice and recognition and maybe getting apologies... You never know." Usually individuals file cases at Europe's top human rights court, appealing to it as a last resort in cases where they have exhausted all domestic legal avenues. But governments also can file complaints in what are known as inter-state cases. AFP
The Sun
09-07-2025
- Politics
- The Sun
Top European rights court finds Russia committed abuses in Ukraine
STRASBOURG: A top European court on Wednesday ruled Russia committed a string of human rights violations in backing anti-Kyiv separatists in eastern Ukraine from 2014, the downing of the MH17 flight that year and invading Ukraine in 2022. The European Court of Human Rights, part of the Council of Europe rights body, is tasked with implementing the European human rights convention in signatory countries. Wednesday's largely symbolic ruling comes after the Council of Europe excluded Russia following its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and Moscow dropped out of the European rights convention in September that year. The ECHR however still handles cases against Russia that were brought before that date. A panel of 17 judges found Russia violated the convention through 'extrajudicial killing of civilians and Ukrainian military personnel' outside of combat, 'torture', 'forced labour', 'unlawful and arbitrary detention of civilians' as well as looting. The judges also ruled that Russia had violated the European rights convention through 'the transfer to Russia and, in many cases, the adoption there of Ukrainian children'. The court said Russia 'must without delay release or safely return all persons who were deprived of liberty on Ukrainian territory under occupation by the Russian and Russian-controlled forces.' It added that Moscow should cooperate in the establishment of an international and independent mechanism to help identify 'all children transferred from Ukraine to Russia and Russian-controlled territory' before September 2022 to restore contact between them and their families, and enable their safe reunification. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Wednesday said Russia had no intention of compling with the decision of the court, whose rulings it considered to be 'null and void'. The court issued its verdict in response to four complaints. Ukraine had filed three of these over events from 2014 to 2022, and the Netherlands had filed a fourth over the downing over eastern Ukraine of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur on July 17, 2014. The UN's aviation agency has blamed Moscow for the tragedy that killed all 298 on board. The ECHR found that 'the suffering of the next of kin of the victims of the downing of flight MH17' violated the right to freedom from torture and punishment. – AFP
GMA Network
09-07-2025
- Politics
- GMA Network
Top European rights court finds Russia committed abuses in Ukraine, MH17 downing
People watch as smoke rises after an Russian airstrike in Lviv, Ukraine March 26, 2022. REUTERS/Pavlo Palamarchuk STRASBOURG, France — A top European court on Wednesday ruled Russia committed human rights violations in backing anti-Kyiv separatists in eastern Ukraine from 2014, the downing of the MH17 flight that year and invading Ukraine in 2022. The European Court of Human Rights, part of the Council of Europe rights body, is tasked with implementing the European human rights convention in the 46 signatory countries. — Agence France-Presse
Yahoo
02-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
How Poland's election result could impact EU
Nationalist Karol Nawrocki's victory in Poland's presidential election deals a major blow to pro-EU premier Donald Tusk and looks set to rattle Brussels. As president, Nawrocki's powers will be limited and he will be second fiddle to Tusk -- but he will still be able to keep stymying the government's reform agenda. "It's certainly not something to rejoice about," a senior EU diplomat told AFP, even if in many ways "the situation will be the same as today" following Nawrocki's win. Here's how the win for the 42-year-old historian, who was endorsed by US President Donald Trump, could impact the EU: - Domestic deadlock = EU headache? - After two years of uncomfortable cohabitation with outgoing President Andrzej Duda, Tusk had hoped a win for his candidate would finally break Poland's political deadlock. But Nawrocki's triumph means Tusk is set to remain thwarted in his push to roll back years of democratic backsliding under the Law and Justice (PiS) party. "It's a catastrophe, but not a new catastrophe," said analyst Daniel Hegedus from the German Marshall Fund. "The election results will in practice mean the continuation of the status quo in Poland." Nawrocki is expected to continue wielding his veto to block efforts to undo hardline laws on abortion and LGBT+ rights before the next parliamentary election in 2027. That looks set to make it more difficult for Tusk to fully deliver on addressing concerns from Brussels over the rule of law in Poland. - Support for Ukraine? Nawrocki throughout his campaign was critical of Ukraine and its push to join NATO and the EU. Petrified by the threat from Russia, Poland has been a stalwart backer of Kyiv under Tusk. But the country, which took in over one million Ukrainian refugees in 2022, has in recent years seen growing anti-Kyiv sentiment, a trend that only accelerated during the presidential race. On the EU stage, Nawrocki's restricted powers mean he has little leeway to play the spoiler on the bloc's efforts to aid Kyiv. Tusk remains the one calling the shots for Warsaw at summits of the bloc's 27 leaders in Brussels. "When EU decisions don't require national legislation to be implemented from Poland, Nawrocki's competences will be pretty limited to block them," Hegedus said. "I think we don't need to be afraid of Poland emerging as a veto power in European decision making," he added. But the harsher tone against Ukraine looks set to grow louder from PiS in the run-up to the 2027 election. - Boost for Orban's pals? While Nawrocki's win may not upend Brussels, it was welcomed by the EU's cohort of nationalist leaders spearheaded by Hungary's Viktor Orban as a triumph for their anti-EU cause. Orban hailed the "fantastic victory" and said he was "looking forward" to working together. "We have to take the result of these elections very, very seriously," said Ramona Coman, a specialist in European issues at the ULB university in Brussels. Coman said the result highlighted the "major democratic disenchantment" that is taking place not only in Poland, but across Europe. - Green fears? Another area where Nawrocki is at loggerheads with Brussels is on its climate ambitions. He is a strong proponent of protecting Polish coal mining and has resolutely opposed the EU's "Green Deal". He has even proposed holding a referendum on the EU's drive to slash carbon emissions, but seems to lack the powers to drive it through. Activists say that despite the new president's outspoken stance, Poland is slowly but surely reducing its use of coal, and that the trend looks set to continue. "The energy transition is progressing -- despite political slogans," said Michal Smolen of the Instrat Foundation in Warsaw. "However, it will depend on the quality of cooperation between the ruling coalition and the new president whether we can go through this process in an orderly manner." - Trump's influence? Trump threw his considerable heft behind Nawrocki, and he was strongly backed by the US president's MAGA movement. Whether Trump's support helped push him to victory in Poland is a question that will absorb politicians across the EU. Last month, a far-right Trump ally in Romania failed to stop pro-EU centrist Nicusor Dan from winning the presidency in a tightly fought race. cjc-del/ec/js
