Families of Ukrainian Plane Victims Welcome Referral of Case to International Court: We Do Not Forgive

Some families of the victims of the Ukrainian plane shot down by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps welcomed the referral of their complaint against the Islamic Republic to the International Court of Justice, emphasizing: we neither forgive nor forget. After approximately 42 months since the downing of the Ukrainian passenger plane in the skies over Tehran by IRGC missiles, the complaint against the Islamic Republic was officially sent to the International Court of Justice by the governments of Canada, Ukraine, the UK, and Sweden on Wednesday, July 4. The four countries had requested the Islamic Republic of Iran six months ago to agree to binding arbitration through the UN convention designed to protect commercial aircraft from attacks. This group announced that since the Islamic Republic did not agree to this request, the matter would be referred to the International Court of Justice as soon as possible. The request for binding arbitration came after years of unsuccessful negotiations with the Islamic Republic regarding compensation for the victims' families and holding Tehran accountable. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps shot down the Ukrainian passenger plane just minutes after it took off from Tehran airport on January 8, 2020, killing all passengers, who were citizens of Iran, Canada, Ukraine, Sweden, Afghanistan, and the UK. With the referral of this case to the International Court of Justice, the Association of Families of Victims of Flight PS752 issued a statement detailing the actions of the Islamic Republic regarding this incident, stating that 'they killed 177 people, disrespected their bodies, stole their luggage, lied for three days, and ultimately in an incompetent court, sentenced an unnamed man to ten years in prison for negligence and disobedience to orders.' In this statement released on Wednesday, it emphasized that the families of the victims do not forget and do not forgive the perpetrators and instigators of 'this organized crime,' noting that following a 'broad and long campaign,' the PS752 case is now 'open in both existing international courts in the world' and 'we have independently filed a complaint in the International Criminal Court and are alongside the four affected countries in the International Court of Justice.' Amina Aghabali, the sister of one of the victims of the downed Ukrainian plane, tweeted regarding the referral of this case to the International Court of Justice: 'The trial of the Islamic Republic of Iran for each of the crimes it has committed in these 44 years is our ultimate goal.' Hamed Ismailioun, the former secretary of the PS752 families' association, emphasized that the filing of this complaint in the International Court of Justice was done 'in memory of those who have gone' and 'in pursuit of their justice.' Azamat Ejdari, another member of the flight families' association, considered this action 'a significant step towards justice.' Javad Soleimani, who lost his wife in the crash of this plane, also emphasized that the instigators and perpetrators of the 'Ukrainian plane crime' will not be left unpunished, considering the referral of this case to 'the International Court of Justice in The Hague a very important step' that 'required a lot of effort from the flight association.' Kaveh Shahrooz, a lawyer residing in Canada, told Voice of America that the Islamic Republic will be forced to state the facts about the downing of the Ukrainian plane in court.