Canada Harshly Criticizes Iran’s “Limited and Selective” Report on Ukrainian Plane’s Black Box: Why Were Missiles Fired?
Canada says it seeks accountability from the Islamic Republic of Iran’s government regarding the downing of a Ukrainian passenger aircraft, as Tehran’s initial report has failed to explain the reason for firing missiles at the plane.
The Canadian government announced on Sunday that it has received a copy of Iran’s report containing recorded sounds from the cockpit, which shows that the pilots of this flight were alive until before the second missile was fired. The second missile hit the aircraft 25 seconds after the first missile exploded.
Francois-Philippe Champagne, Canada’s Foreign Minister, and Marc Garneau, Canada’s Minister of Transport, said in a statement: “The initial report provides only limited and selective information about this tragic event.”
The statement read: “This report only covers what happened after the first missile was fired and says nothing about the firing of the second missile. This only confirms what we already knew. We expect the Islamic Republic of Iran to answer important questions [about] why missiles were fired in the first place and why Iranian airspace was open?”
The statement concluded: “These are questions that Canada, Canadians, and most importantly, the families of innocent victims need answered.”
Iran, after months of delay and wasting time, finally sent the black box of the downed aircraft to France for analysis approximately six months after this tragedy, in mid-July.
The Association of Families of the Victims of the Ukrainian Passenger Aircraft, in a statement, called Iran’s report “a laughable display of cover-up and renewed lies.”
The association said in its statement: “This shameful spectacle was devoid of any answer to all the evidence and questions that strongly suggest the deliberate nature of this missile attack.”
The Association of Families of the Victims of the Ukrainian Passenger Aircraft called on others (other countries involved in this case) to “fully publish the contents of the black box” so that the truth becomes clear.
On the morning of Wednesday, December 9, a Boeing 737 passenger aircraft of Ukraine International Airlines with 176 passengers bound for Canada was shot down after taking off from Tehran Airport by the firing of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ air defense system.
Iranian officials initially stated that the cause of the plane crash was a technical malfunction for several days. However, the United States specifically reported the downing of the aircraft at that time. After a few days, the Revolutionary Guard Corps eventually admitted that it had mistakenly targeted the aircraft. This delay in revealing the truth and the system’s deception caused public anger and protests.
However, in recent months, those responsible for downing this aircraft have yet to be tried; but several civil activists who opposed the Guard Corps’ action have been sentenced to prison by Iran’s judicial system.
Source: Voice of America
