Ukraine Faces Lawsuit from Families of German MH17 Victims

The families of the German victims of Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 intend to sue the country and its president for manslaughter by negligence, according to the lawyer representing them.

Elmar Giemulla, the lawyer who represents three families of German victims, said that Ukraine should have closed its airspace if it could not guarantee that the flights would be safe.

“Each state is responsible for the security of its airspace,” Giemulla said. “If it is not able to do so temporarily, it must close its airspace. As that did not happen, Ukraine is liable for the damage.”

According to Giemulla, Ukraine had committed a human rights violation by choosing not to close its airspace, stating this meant that the country accepted the deaths of hundreds of innocent people.

298 people were killed when the jetliner crashed in the pro-Russian rebel-held territory of Ukraine.

Russia has rejected the claims made by Ukraine and Western countries that they supplied the Russian rebels with SA-11 Buk anti-aircraft missile systems to shoot down the plane.

The case accused Ukraine and its president Petro Poroshenko of manslaughter by negligence in 298 cases. Giemulla intended on giving the case to the European Court of Human Rights in two weeks, pushing for compensation of one million euros ($1.3 million) per victim.