Justice Demonstration by Families of Flight 752 Victims Held in Toronto, Canada
A number of Iranians living in Canada, along with friends and families of Flight 752 victims, held a protest gathering and march in Toronto on Thursday.
This gathering and justice march was held at the invitation of the Association of Families of Flight 752 Victims and to demand justice regarding those responsible for the downing of the Ukrainian aircraft.
Flight 752 of Ukraine International Airlines was struck in the early morning of December 8, 2019 (Dey 18, 1398), moments after taking off from Imam Khomeini Airport near Tehran, by missiles fired by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps air defense system, killing all 176 passengers on board, some of whom held Canadian citizenship.
Iran states that “human error” was the cause of the incident, but the governments of Canada and Ukraine have repeatedly accused the Islamic Republic of concealing information about the incident and have demanded complete information on the matter. Some families of the victims also claim that the Revolutionary Guard Corps “intentionally” targeted the aircraft, a claim that the Islamic Republic has denied.
Video footage has been released showing long lines of protesters on the streets of Toronto. Protesters carried images of the victims of the Ukrainian aircraft throughout the march. The march proceeded from Queen Park to Nathan Phillips Square.
Hamed Esmaeilion, spokesperson for the Association of Families of Flight 752 Victims, harshly criticized the presence of a European Union representative at the inauguration ceremony of Ebrahim Raisi in his speech at the protest gathering.
Hamed Esmaeilion lost his wife Parisa and daughter Reera in the Ukrainian aircraft downing incident.
The spokesperson for the Association of Families of Flight 752 Victims continued in his speech, saying today the question is what a European Union representative is doing at a gathering of darkness and madness. Kissing the hands of the emperor of fear and killing, what relevance does it have to gestures defending human rights.
Hamed Esmaeilion emphasized: Just today, to ensure the security of the inauguration ceremony, flights over Tehran were halted, but during wartime the lives of innocent people had no value.
Coinciding with the inauguration ceremony of President Ebrahim Raisi on Thursday, a flight ban over Tehran’s airspace was implemented.
This came as the Ukrainian passenger aircraft was shot down by the Revolutionary Guard Corps air defense system hours after Iran’s missile attack on Ain al-Asad base in Iraq, which was home to American forces.
Source: Radio Farda
