On Sunday , Iran's Islamic Republic judiciary has sentenced 10 members of the armed forces to prison after finding them guilty of involvement in the downing of a Ukrainian airliner. However, the objectivity and independence of the Iranian investigation have repeatedly raised doubts.
Canada and Ukraine have always been critical of the environment in which the tragedy took place and Iran's irresponsible actions leading to the Fatal accident. TSB-Canada also raised many questions on the Investigation by Iranian Civil Aviation Authority.
TSB-canada had asked Iran’s AAIB to answer Few important questions !
Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 (PS752) was a scheduled international civilian passenger flight from Tehran to Kyiv, operated by Ukraine International Airlines.
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) shot down Ukraine International Airlines flight PS752 , operated by a Boeing 737-800 , shortly after its takeoff from Tehran on January 8, 2020, killing all 176 people on board. Most were Iranians and Canadians, including many dual nationals.
The Judicial Report released today highlights that a commander received the heaviest penalty of 10 years in prison for having defied orders in shooting down the plane.
Report further read , Nine other personnel of the IRGC were sentenced to between one and three years. The commander of a Tor M-1 surface-to-air missile system “fired two missiles” at the airliner “contrary to orders” and without obtaining authorisation, however the report It did not specifically identify any of the accused.
Three days after the Kyiv-bound Boeing aircraft was shot down, the Iranian armed forces admitted there had been a “mistake”. Sources quoted , Tensions between Iran and the United States had been soaring at the time the airliner was shot down.
The report highlighted that,
“Given the extent of the effects and consequences of this action, the main defendant was sentenced to the maximum penalty.”
Iranian air defences were on high alert for a US counterattack after Tehran fired missiles at a military base in Iraq that was used by American forces.
Those missiles came in response to the killing in a US drone attack in Baghdad of Major General Qassem Soleimani who headed the foreign operations arm of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Iranian authorities initially denied having any responsibility for the aircraft's destruction, but investigations by various intelligence agencies from the Western world as well as by the Iranian public later revealed that it had been struck by two surface-to-air missiles.
On 11 January 2020, finally the Iranian government had to admit that the IRGC had targeted Flight 752 after mistakenly identifying it as an American cruise missile.
Iran’s judiciary said in November 2021 that a trial had opened in Tehran for 10 military members “of various ranks” in connection with the jet’s downing.
In January last year, Iran said it had begun paying compensation to families of those killed. Arash Khodaei, a vice president of the country’s Civil Aviation Organisation, said that “the sum of $150,000 has been transferred” to some families, while “the process has begun” for others.
The payment “does not infringe upon (their) right to take legal action”, state news agency IRNA quoted him as saying.
Earlier in 2020 , Iran offered to pay “$150,000 or the equivalent in euros” to each of the victims’ families.
However, in several platforms , Ukrainian and Canadian officials strongly criticised the announcement, saying compensation should not be settled through unilateral declarations.
In early 2022, Iran said it had begun compensating some victims’ families with the sum of $150,000, also promising to pay the rest of the relatives.
In January 2022, a Canadian court had awarded more than $80 million in compensation to the families of six of the victims in a decision made public.
As mentioned earlier , group of countries led by Canada called in December for an arbitrator to settle claims against Iran, a first step in possibly bringing a case at the International Court of Justice, which victims’ families have long demanded.
The aircraft was a Boeing 737-8KV serial number 38124, registration UR-PSR. It was three-and-a-half years old when it was shot down, having first flown on 21 June 2016. It was delivered to UIA on 19 July 2016, the first 737 Next Generation aircraft purchased by the airline.
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