Military prosecutor's report on Ukrainian plane crash: It was avoidable, only one person in custody
On the anniversary of the shooting down of a passenger plane by the IRGC, the Tehran Province Military Prosecutor announced on Thursday, January 8, that the investigation into the incident had been concluded, calling it avoidable and saying that only one person was in custody in connection with the incident.
He announced the completion of "investigations by seven military expert groups and the Civil Aviation Organization into various hypotheses regarding the causes of the accident" for the Ukrainian plane in the suburbs of Tehran.
According to the ILNA news agency, Gholam Abbas Turki said regarding the results of this investigation that the commander of the defense system that targeted the passenger plane made a "gross" mistake in determining the north direction in his radar navigation.
He said: "After the last tactical shift, the defense system did not adjust the position of the north of the system due to forgetfulness, and for this reason it observed the targets on the radar screen with a drastic change in position."
The Tehran Provincial Military Prosecutor added: "When they attempt to obtain an assignment from the defense network, due to the lack of communication and message exchange, the commander, believing that he has little time to deal with the danger, personally decides to fire."
This judicial authority concluded that "despite the difficulty of making a decision due to the prevailing atmosphere on the night of the incident, if the system user and commander had exercised the necessary care, this incident would not have occurred."
These claims come as many observers are skeptical of the "mistaken" theory that the missile was fired. Canada's foreign minister has previously said he does not believe the missile was fired due to human error.
On the morning of January 8, the Revolutionary Guards shot down a Ukrainian passenger plane, flight number PS 752, as it was taking off from Tehran's Imam Khomeini Airport, by firing at least two missiles, killing all 176 people on board.
After three days of secrecy, the Revolutionary Guard Corps finally admitted, under pressure from the international community, that the plane was shot down by IRGC missiles, but stated that the cause was “human error.” The main commanders who shot down the plane have not yet been identified.
In this regard, the Tehran Province Military Prosecutor said on Thursday that "during the investigation process, individuals were found guilty of carelessness, negligence, and failure to comply with regulations and rules, and currently only one defendant is in custody, and the others have been released after posting bail and other appropriate orders."
According to Tehran's military prosecutor, the hypotheses of a cyber attack, hacking of the defense system, and disruption of aircraft systems and the defense network have been rejected "with solid reasons."
Iranian authorities, including the Tehran Military Prosecutor, have so far refused to provide any evidence to support their claims, making it impossible to verify these claims.
On the first anniversary of the downing of Flight 752 by the Revolutionary Guards, the Iranian president said Thursday morning that “this incident was an incredible accident that resulted from the error of one individual and the recklessness of a group,” but he did not explain what exactly was meant by “the recklessness of a group.”
The Islamic Republic's secrecy, numerous contradictions, and numerous false claims by various Iranian government officials, including IRGC commanders, government officials, and the judiciary, have caused many to have serious doubts about the veracity of the Islamic Republic's claims.
Among the dead were dozens of foreign citizens from Canada, Afghanistan, Britain, and Ukraine, and Iran has not yet provided a comprehensive report to the aforementioned countries on why the flight was targeted.
On Thursday, Gholam Abbas Turki announced the "finalization" of the expert groups' report on the case, adding that the Civil Aviation Organization's report has been sent to the relevant countries.
The Ukrainian Foreign Minister confirmed on Tuesday of this week that Iran had provided Ukraine with a draft technical report on January 1, before the expiration of the 12-month deadline for submitting a technical report on the accident.
However, the person responsible for the crash of Flight 752 in Ukraine emphasized in an interview with Radio Farda on Wednesday, January 7, that his country is now waiting for the government of the Islamic Republic to identify and punish the real "responsible" for shooting down the plane and to announce the "real reasons" for the incident.
