Ukrainian Plane Downing; Four-Country Deadline for Iran
Ukraine, Britain, Sweden, and Canada have given Iran until January 5 (December 15) to pay compensation for downing the Ukrainian aircraft. They threatened to resort to legal action against Iran if this does not happen.
On Thursday, December 16 (December 25), Reuters reported that countries whose citizens were harmed by the tragedy of the downing of a Ukrainian Airlines passenger aircraft near Tehran have set a deadline for the Islamic Republic.
According to the report, Ukraine, Britain, Sweden, and Canada, which have formed a coordination group to handle this case, said that if Iran does not take action regarding compensation payments by January 5 (December 15), they will take serious steps against this country within the framework of international law.
The Ukrainian passenger aircraft with flight number 752 was shot down shortly after takeoff from Tehran airport on January 8, 2020, after being struck by two missiles from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. All 176 passengers on the aircraft, including 85 Canadian citizens and permanent residents of the country, were killed.
Since then, Iranian authorities have refrained from accepting responsibility for this tragedy and have evaded reaching an agreement with the families of victims and countries involved in this case through various pretexts.
In the latest move, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic announced on December 9 that in three rounds of bilateral negotiations between representatives of Iran and Ukraine in August 2020, September 2020, and June 2021, “all technical, military, legal, criminal, and payment aspects were addressed in detail and in accordance with international obligations and even beyond.”
End of Patience from Opposing Parties
In a statement released on Thursday by Ukraine, Britain, Sweden, and Canada, it stated: “The patience of the coordination group has come to an end.” According to them, the coordination group has pressured Tehran to begin discussions regarding compensation and the implementation of justice, but has not yet received an appropriate response.
Families of the tragedy victims have concluded that the Islamic Republic intentionally shot down the passenger aircraft.
Following intense multilateral pressure, a court was held in Tehran to address responsibility for the killing of 176 people, in which 10 junior officers are being tried.
Hamed Esmaeilion, spokesperson for the Association of Families of Victims of the Missile Attack on the Ukrainian Aircraft, called this court “shameful theater” in a tweet and wrote: “The defendants’ bench will await the principal perpetrators: Ali Khamenei, IRGC commanders, and members of the Supreme National Security Council. It will not be long.”
Source: DW
