The leader of Russian militants in eastern Ukraine, Igor Girkin, has been officially charged with the crash of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 in July of last year, which resulted in the deaths of all 298 people on board. Girkin is accused as an executor with the support of the Russian government.
The case was initiated at the request of the families of 18 victims. Girkin attracted attention after a post on a social media page, where a group of militants from the Donetsk People's Republic (DNR) allegedly claimed responsibility for the crash of a Ukrainian An-26. 'We warned them - do not fly in our sky' - they wrote at that time on social media. The message was later deleted but led to claims that Girkin's fighters likely shot down MH17 by mistake. Nevertheless, the DNR continued to deny any responsibility for the attack.
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'The plane flew over airspace where militants operated and under the leadership of the accused Girkin shot down the Boeing 777' - stated in court documents.
The lawsuit adds that Girkin 'assisted and/or conspired with those who launched the missile or missiles', and individuals under his command 'took responsibility' for the crash of the plane.
Recall that the missile shot down the aircraft, which was en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, and was struck while passing through eastern Ukraine.
'This is not about the money, but about getting answers from Girkin and pressuring Russia to cooperate with the international tribunal, - says one of the lawyers on the case. - But there are compensations for families. We are doing this as a service to them because they want answers and do not want to be forgotten'. It is known that they want to claim about a billion dollars from Girkin.
A case has also been opened against Malaysia Airlines by a relative of the deceased. It alleges that the airline acted negligently by scheduling a flight through a 'internationally recognized conflict zone'. This air route was then banned for many airlines.
Malaysia Airlines has so far declined to comment on the case.
Australia, Belgium, Malaysia, the Netherlands, and Ukraine have come together to create an independent tribunal to find those guilty of crimes related to the MH17 disaster. While Dutch investigators released their final report on their investigation of the crash in October, the preliminary report stated that the plane was hit by 'a large number of high-energy objects that penetrated the aircraft from the outside'.
The Investigative Committee (SK) of the Russian Federation, meanwhile, reported that the Malaysian Boeing crashed as a result of being hit by an 'air-to-air' missile.