Ukraine Plane Victims' Families Condemn Raisi Following His Death

After the death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, the Association of Families of the Ukrainian Plane Victims released a statement accusing him of complicity in the downing of the airliner.

The flight was shot down by two air-defense missiles fired by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on January 8, 2020, shortly after taking off from Tehran's Imam Khomeini International Airport, killing all 176 aboard.

The group accused him of not only being complicit in maintaining open Iranian airspace during the shooting down of Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752 but also in actively obstructing the victims' families' quest for truth.

In July, Britain, Canada, Sweden, and Ukraine lodged formal complaints against Iran at the International Court of Justice, accusing the Islamic Republic of intentionally shooting down the plane. Additionally, in January, these nations submitted a complaint to the UN Aviation Council, seeking to hold Iran responsible for the aircraft's downing.

The association's statement highlighted Raisi's involvement as a member of the Supreme National Security Council on the night of the downing.

“We demanded a fair trial and punishment for him to confess to his crimes and taste the punishment. This opportunity was taken from us, but it must be said that we are not sorry for his death. We neither forget nor forgive the killers of Iran's children," the association's statement said.

In April, the Tehran military court sentenced the operator responsible for firing the missiles at the plane to 13 years in prison and ordered him to pay compensation. Among the military personnel accused, none of the high-ranking military or government officials of the Islamic Republic are named.