Downed Plane Victims’ Families Welcome Lawsuit Against Iran

The Association of Families of Flight PS752 welcomed the move by Canada, Britain, Ukraine and Sweden to take the case to the International Court of Justice (ICJ). 

“We independently filed our claim before the International Criminal Court and support the four affected countries’ referral to the International Court of Justice,” the Association said in a statement. 

“Those who ordered and carried out the crime [involving] the Ukrainian airliner will not be left alone,” Javad Soleimani who lost his young wife Elnaz Nabii in the tragedy tweeted Wednesday and said suing the Islamic Republic was a very important step to attain justice for which the Association made great efforts. 

“They murdered 177 innocent civilians, blatantly disrespected their remains, looted and robbed their belongings, lied for three days until they were exposed and continued to subvert justice, the Association of Families of Flight PS752 said in a statement Wednesday. 

“The Islamic regime staged show trials at an unqualified and partial military tribunal to convict an unknown patsy for negligence and failure to obey orders, and sentenced him to ten years in prison,” the statement said and thanked the four countries and their legal team for “working steadfastly towards their commitment to truth and justice.”

Some of the victims’ families held a seminar in Toronto Wednesday entitled Flight PS752, Our Mission: Truth and Justice and said they would gather at the city’s Mel Lastman Square to remember the victims. 

The Association’s statement was released after the announcement of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on the same day that it received a joint application by Canada, Britain, Ukraine and Sweden which constitute the International Coordination and Response Group for the Victims of Flight PS752 against the Islamic Republic of Iran concerning the dispute over the downing of the flight on January 8, 2020 which killed all 177 onboard including an unborn child. 

In a press release Wednesday, ICJ in the Hague, the principal judicial organ of the United Nations often referred to as the World Court, said the applicants claim that Iran has violated a series of obligations under the Montreal Convention because of the shooting down the civilian aircraft by military personnel of the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) on January 8, 2020. 

They also say Iran subsequently failed to conduct an impartial, transparent, and fair criminal investigation and prosecution consistent with international law. 

“Iran must be held to account for their actions and we will continue to fight for the transparency, accountability and justice that victims' families deserve,” Canada’s minister of foreign affairs, Melanie Joly, tweeted after the announcement. 

In a tweet Wednesday, UK ambassador to Tehran, Simon Shercliff, said the legal action reflects his country’s unwavering committed to achieving transparency, justice and accountability for the families of the victims. 

Iran's hardliners have been comparing the incident with the downing of Flight IR655 on July 3, 1988, by the USS Vincennes. All 290 people onboard the Airbus were killed. 

“With today marking the 33rd anniversary of the shooting down of the Iranian civilian airplane #IR655 which resulted in the death of 290 passengers and crew including 66 children, those who were shedding crocodile tears after the Ukrainian plane crash are nowhere to be seen,” a Twitter account bearing the name of Brigadier General Amir-Ali Hajizadeh, the Revolutionary Guards Aerospace Commander at the time of the incident, said on July 3. 

Flying from Bandar Abbas in southern Iran towards Dubai, the UAE, IR655 was shot down during the Iran–Iraq War (1980-1988). The United States claimed the Vincennes crew had incorrectly identified the Airbus as an attacking Iranian Air Force F-14 Tomcat and that the airliner was targeted after ten attempts to contact the aircraft both on military and civilian frequencies to no avail. 

US President Ronald Reagan sent a written diplomatic note to the Islamic republic shortly after the incident and expressed his deep regret for the shooting down of the plane and declared that reparations or compensation to the families of victims were "a matter that has to be discussed."