Families of Ukrainian flight victims form association to pursue case and ensure justice

The families of the victims of the Ukrainian flight that was shot down by the Revolutionary Guards in Iran announced the formation of an association to follow up on the case of the flight and the launch of a website for the association.

A number of victims' families said in an online news conference on Tuesday, June 17, that others can also volunteer to help by visiting this website.

They listed the goals of this association as "keeping the memory of the victims alive," "supporting the families of the victims," ​​and "demanding justice."

At the news conference, the victims' families said that the Iranian government is not cooperating with other countries and is not answering important questions about how the plane was shot down and the events leading up to and following it. They stressed that Iran should be pressured to account through the International Court of Justice.

Hamed Esmailiyon, the husband and father of one of the victims of the Ukrainian flight, said that compensation is important, but the families in Canada do not expect the Iranian government to simply pay for what they did to their family. He said that for them in Canada, justice is more important than anything else. He stressed that the families also want to know the names of those who ordered and carried out the shooting down of the Ukrainian plane.

Mr. Esmailiyon expressed skepticism about Iran's claim that the plane was shot down due to human error, saying that Iran must prove it. He also raised the question of why Iran's skies were not closed to commercial and passenger flights if the level of tension in the region was so high?

Mr. Esmailiyon also emphasized the failure to return the victims’ belongings to their families, saying that Iranian authorities have refused to even return the victims’ Canadian passports. He also referred to the disappearance of wedding rings, personal belongings, luggage, and other belongings of the passengers of that flight after the crash, as well as the government’s swift cleanup of the crash site, calling this an example of “property looting” by the government.

Hamed Esmailiou accused Iran of providing false information, saying, “Just look at the Iranian sites.” He said the Iranian sites “are engaged in a sophisticated propaganda campaign to tire the victims’ families out of pursuing this case.”

He said he would meet with the Canadian Foreign Minister soon and hoped to receive new information. Mr. Esmailiou called for the families of the victims to be present as observers in the investigation.

Javad Soleimani, the husband of another victim, also reported the ongoing harassment of the families of the victims of the Ukrainian flight and said that he would share his report with the media and possibly Amnesty International in the near future. Javad Soleimani said that when he went to Iran and criticized the authorities’ actions in targeting the plane, he was summoned by the Ministry of Intelligence and asked to explain his behavior. He also said that Iranian aviation authorities had contacted the families of the victims and asked them to refrain from criticizing Iran’s actions regarding the Ukrainian flight.

Mr. Soleimani emphasized that the families of those who lost loved ones cannot remain silent in the face of this crime and the murder of their loved ones by the Iranian regime.

Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752, which was en route from Tehran to the Ukrainian capital of Kiev on January 8, 2020 with 176 passengers, crashed minutes after taking off due to a missile attack by the Revolutionary Guard near the new city of Parand in Tehran province, killing all of its passengers, who were mostly Iranians.

Source: Voice of America