Families of Flight PS752: We Will Not Step Back from Seeking Justice

The association of the families of the victims of Flight PS752 emphasized in a statement on the fifth anniversary of the "crime of shooting down the passenger plane" that they will not back down from seeking justice, and that one day those responsible will be condemned and punished in an independent judiciary in Iran. The statement, released on Tuesday, January 8, coinciding with the fifth anniversary of the Ukrainian passenger plane's downing by IRGC missiles, stated: "One day justice will prevail in Iran. One day the criminals will be condemned and punished in an independent judiciary in this country. We are determined and hopeful, and we will not step back from seeking justice for our loved ones. Until that day, we will neither forget nor forgive the killers of the children of Iran." The statement also recalled that "five years have passed since the downing of the passenger plane over Tehran airport" and the "missile attack" on its passengers, noting that "five years have passed since the crime of downing Flight PS752 by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the killing of 176 people, including an unborn child," and during these years, "the case of this crime has been referred by the four affected countries: Canada, the UK, Ukraine, and Sweden to the International Court of Justice and the International Civil Aviation Organization." The association expressed gratitude for the commitment of these governments to the survivors, stating: "Our expectation from this legal process is the clarification of the truth and the implementation of justice. In the coming months, we anticipate a response from ICAO and the convening of an initial meeting in The Hague, and we hope the path to truth-seeking is correctly followed." The association also deemed the listing of the IRGC as a terrorist organization in Canada as "very important" and expressed hope that "other countries will follow the lead of the US and Canada in this matter." The association emphasized that "it is clear today and has been evident from the beginning that the Islamic Republic has no documentation regarding human error" and that "on the other hand, the increasing pressure from the Islamic Republic on the families of the victims around the world, especially in Iran, has intensified." The families' association also called for "a special examination of the case in The Hague considering the Islamic Republic's behavior towards the families" and "the opening of a criminal case in Canada by the federal police and the support of the four countries for filing a case in the International Criminal Court." They also reminded that the anniversary of the deliberate killings of Baktash Abtin and the government-sanctioned murders of Mohammad Mehdi Karami and Mohammad Hosseini coincided with the IRGC's missile attack on the Ukrainian plane, stating: "The decaying pillars of the Islamic Republic stand on the graves of thousands of victims whose memory we honor." The association emphasized that "the quest for justice by the families of the flight, which is part of the larger movement for justice in Iran, can assist the Iranian people's movement to overcome this nightmare and achieve justice and freedom" as "our difficult path to justice continues, and we feel indebted to millions of free people who have stood with us in Iran and around the world." On the fifth anniversary of the downing of Flight PS752, which was shot down by IRGC missiles, the families of the victims, while present in Shahidshahr, identified Khamenei and senior officials of the Islamic Republic as responsible for this crime. Flight PS752 of Ukraine International Airlines was targeted by two IRGC missiles less than three minutes after taking off from Tehran International Airport on January 8, 2020, killing all 176 passengers on board. After three days of denial, Iranian officials finally admitted to shooting down the plane but attributed it to "human error." On July 5, 2023, Canada, Sweden, Ukraine, and the UK requested the International Court of Justice to begin proceedings against the Islamic Republic regarding the downing of the Ukrainian plane, accusing the Iranian government of violating the Montreal Convention and the intentional downing of the Ukrainian passenger plane.