THE HAGUE: Russia has formally appealed to the International Court of Justice against a ruling that found Moscow responsible for shooting down Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over Ukraine in 2014.
The appeal challenges the court’s decision which held Russia accountable for the incident that killed all 298 people on board the Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur flight.
Australia and the Netherlands initiated the original case against Russia as they suffered the highest number of casualties in the disaster.
The Boeing 777 was struck by a Russian-made BUK missile over eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region on July 17, 2014, during fighting between pro-Russian separatists and Ukrainian forces.
The International Civil Aviation Organization had previously determined in May that the case against Russia was well founded both factually and legally.
Russia contends in its appeal that the ICAO incorrectly applied the 1944 Chicago Convention on international aviation to an armed conflict situation.
Moscow further claims that investigators disregarded evidence provided by the Russian Federation during the original proceedings.
A Dutch court had sentenced three men to life imprisonment in 2022 for their roles in the downing, including two Russian citizens.
Russia has consistently refused to extradite the convicted individuals to serve their sentences. – AFP