11:31, 23 December 2020

Relatives of victims of Tu-154 crash near Sochi denied compensations

Emergency and rescue services at the site of the crash of the Tu-154. December 25, 2016. Photo: the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations

A court in Moscow has found the refusal to pay compensations to relatives of those who perished in December 2016 in the Tu-154 crash near Sochi to be legitimate; the claimants' representative has announced. The defence intends to appeal against the refusal.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that in December 2018, 72 relatives of the victims of the crash of the Tu-154 aircraft that belonged to the Russian Ministry of Defence (MoD) filed a claim against the SOGAZ Insurance Company to the Meschansky District Court of Moscow. The claimants demanded additional insurance payments and compensation for material damage and moral harm; the claim amounted in 2.167 billion roubles. In April 2019, the court dismissed the claim.

The Tu-154 owned by the Russian Ministry of Defence (MoD) made a flight to Syria and fell down into the sea near Sochi on December 25, 2016. All the 92 people on board perished.

The Second Cassation Court found the refusal to pay compensations to be legitimate, the TASS reported on December 22 citing the lawyer, Igor Trunov.

"The court found that the MoD and the SOGAZ had fulfilled their obligations, despite the fact that no moral harm was reimbursed, as well as the fact that children were born in casualties' families, who failed to receive any payments at all," the "Interfax" News Agency quotes Mr Trunov as saying.

He has added that the defence intends to appeal against the refusal to pay compensations to the Russia's Supreme Court and the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR).

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on December 23, 2020 at 07:44 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.