PACE: russia is responsible for downing MH17

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe unanimously approved a resolution to bring to justice those responsible for the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, which killed 298 people.

80 out of 81 deputies voted for the resolution, none voted against, and one abstained, Ukrinform reports.

King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands was present in the session hall. 198 Dutch citizens became plane crash victims.

"Based on the evidence provided to the rapporteur by the Ukrainian and Dutch authorities, the Assembly considers the most convincing scenario to be that flight MH17 was shot down by a Buk missile provided to the pro-russian armed forces by the russian army," the PACE resolution said.

The Assembly does not doubt that the criminal courts of the Netherlands, the European Court of Human Rights, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), and the International Court of Justice (ICJ) will rule in due course on the criminal liability of defendants and the russian state's liability under the European Convention on Human Rights and other international conventions, the document says.

The PACE is concerned that the russian authorities have not cooperated in good faith with the Flight Safety Investigation (OVV) and the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) criminal investigation, which included investigators from Australia, Belgium, Malaysia, the Netherlands, and Ukraine.

In particular, the resolution states: "Instead of providing reliable information to the competent investigative bodies, the russian authorities have misinformed, in particular by spreading several successive conflicting versions of the facts to create confusion. In particular, the version that a Ukrainian SU25 or MiG29 shot down an MH17 was completely refuted, as was the one that the crash was caused by a Ukrainian Buk missile sent from the government-controlled territory. "

The Assembly, therefore, called on the russian federation to make all satellite and radar data available to OVV and JIT.

The resolution emphasizes that "the russian authorities and state-controlled media disinformation, as well as disrespect for the victims' remains by russia-controlled military units, overseeing the disaster scene, increased the suffering of families and friends of the victims, who were desperate to know the truth about what had happened to their loved ones, including the conditions and reasons for it, and to bring the perpetrators to justice."

In its resolution, the Assembly called on the russian federation to cooperate with the JIT by providing it with all the information requested, correcting the falsified data already provided, and apologizing to the families and friends of the victims for the pain and suffering caused by the misinformation.

In addition, the PACE asks the United States and NATO to provide the JIT with all radar and satellite images, intercepted communications, and other data that could help the JIT bring to justice all those responsible for the downing of MH17, including those who launched the missile and ordered the launch and transportation of the missile to Ukraine.

The Assembly also called on all competent national and international bodies to update their procedures for overflying conflict zones following the OVV's recommendations.

The PACE praised the actions of the Dutch authorities for their significant contribution to international investigations and support for the victims' families. She also thanked Australia, Belgium, Malaysia, and Ukraine for their unwavering support for international aviation security investigations and criminal investigations by the Netherlands.