No One is Seriously Pursuing Transparency in the Investigation of the Ukrainian Plane Downing

Several relatives of passengers on the aircraft downed by Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps missiles answered journalists’ questions online. Their representative is scheduled to meet with Canada’s Foreign Minister next week.

On Tuesday, June 16 (May 26), several members of the “Association of Families of Flight PS752 Victims” answered journalists’ questions during a live program on YouTube after explaining the latest steps they have taken regarding the aviation incident of January 8, 2020.

The Ukrainian airline aircraft was shot down in Tehran on January 8 of last year as a result of being struck by air defense missiles fired by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Islamic Republic authorities initially denied firing at the aircraft and claimed a “technical fault” caused the crash, but after three days, the General Staff of the Armed Forces took responsibility for the incident.

However, to this day, a detailed report of the investigation into this case has not been made available to the public.

Of the 176 people who died on the Ukrainian aircraft, 138 were heading to Canada. The flight carried a large number of Iranian elites.

Where is the black box and passengers’ belongings?

The remarks of the participants (Hamed Esmaeilion, Javad Soleimani, and Arash Moratab) reflect the reality that aside from the families of the victims, no government or organization is seriously pursuing transparency in this matter.

Hamed Esmaeilion, spokesman for the Association of Families of the Victims, who lost his wife and 9-year-old child in this tragedy, while announcing that he will meet with François-Philippe Champagne, Canada’s Foreign Minister, next week, expressed hope that the Canadian government will make greater efforts to “achieve justice” in this regard.

He emphasized that many of the passengers on the downed aircraft were Canadian citizens and their families expect help from their government in clarifying the matter.

Esmaeilion clarified in this regard: “We do not want financial compensation; we seek transparency. We want to know the details of the incident: Did it happen due to human error? Why was airspace open for commercial flights under those circumstances? Why was our families’ flight delayed? Who is responsible? Where is the black box? Where are the clothes, passports, and wallets of the victims? We have not even received our engagement rings.”

Pressure on victims’ families

According to the participants in Tuesday’s press conference, the Iranian government has put pressure on the families of victims to force them into silence.

The Association of Families of the Victims is scheduled to release a detailed report in the near future regarding the pressures that the Iranian government has exerted on these families.

Some participants in the online conference who were members of the victims’ families held up placards written with: “We do not forgive, we do not forget.”

Many comments also expressed solidarity with the bereaved relatives.

According to some Iranian officials, the case of this aviation incident is in a military court and therefore the details of the investigation are not being released.

Shakrallah Bahrami, head of the Judicial Organization of Iran’s Armed Forces, also said that one person is being held in custody over this case and several others have been summoned as defendants.

Source: DW