THE HAGUE, June 14 (Reuters) – A legal professional for Russia on Wednesday disregarded Ukraine’s account of the downing of Malaysian Airways Flight MH17 in International Courtroom hearings previous this week as “fiction”.
Ukraine accuses Russia ahead of the U.N.’s most sensible court docket of violating a U.N. anti-terrorism treaty by means of equipping and investment pro-Russian forces, together with militias who shot down Malaysian Airways Flight MH17, killing all 298 passengers and workforce in July 2014.
Ultimate November, a Dutch court docket discovered that Russia had “general keep an eye on” over the separatist forces and had equipped the BUK missile gadget which used to be utilized by militias to shoot down the airplane.
Ukraine repeated the Dutch court docket findings in its case ahead of the Global Courtroom of Justice (ICJ), however Russia’s legal professional Michael Swainston disregarded it as “fiction”.
“This didn’t occur, no BUK Telar got here from Russia,” he advised the court docket at the ultimate day of hearings.
In its case on the ICJ, sometimes called the International Courtroom, Kyiv additionally claims Russia breached a U.N. anti-discrimination treaty by means of looking to erase the tradition of ethnic Tatars and Ukrainians in Crimea, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014.
In its ultimate submissions on Monday, Ukraine requested the ICJ to seek out Moscow in charge of breaching its treaty tasks and order it to pay reparations.
Russia denies systematic human rights abuses in Ukrainian territory that it occupies. It additionally says it has met its tasks below the U.N. treaty in opposition to financing terrorism.
It has requested the court docket to throw out Ukraine’s declare which stems from 2017 and used to be filed smartly ahead of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
The ICJ is anticipated to rule at the case ahead of the tip of this 12 months.
Reporting by means of Stephanie van den Berg, Enhancing by means of William Maclean
Our Requirements: The Thomson Reuters Believe Ideas.
