Plainclothes Forces Attack Gathering of Families of PS752 Flight Victims in Front of Ukrainian Embassy
On the fifth day of Russia’s military assault on Ukraine and amid continuing global reactions and anti-war protests around the world against this comprehensive aggression, a group of families of those killed in PS752 flight say they were met with “an onslaught of plainclothes forces” after gathering in front of the Ukrainian Embassy.
Khosro Malak, father of Maryam Malak, one of the victims of this flight, was present at the gathering on Monday, March 1st. He says he was beaten by plainclothes forces.
Mr. Malak told Voice of America: “We, families of the PS752 flight victims, gathered in front of the Ukrainian Embassy in Tehran holding pictures of the deceased from this flight to express solidarity and sympathy with the people of Ukraine, but we were beaten by five plainclothes agents and police forces did not intervene.”
Mr. Malak told Voice of America that the agents first attacked one of the mothers present at the gathering, and following Mr. Malak’s intervention, they also beat him.
Describing the physical assault by the agents, including spraying “pepper spray” and beating, he said that ultimately they dragged him and his wife along with one mother and three fathers of the PS752 flight victims to police station 101, near the embassy, and held them in detention for nearly two hours.
Mr. Malak said: “Our crime was that we were families of the PS752 flight victims and as human beings showed compassion for an oppressed people and called for an end to the war and killing of civilians.”
Following the news of the beating of families of PS752 flight victims in front of the Ukrainian Embassy in Tehran, Hamed Esmaeilion posted a message on his Twitter account calling the attackers at the gathering in front of the Ukrainian Embassy in Tehran “the dregs and thugs of the Islamic Republic” who attacked families of the Ukrainian flight victims “in the most brutal way possible, with pepper spray and beating” and caused them harm.
On the other hand, on Sunday, February 28th, the Association of Families of Victims of the Ukrainian Aircraft released a statement expressing support for the people of Ukraine. In the statement, calling Vladimir Putin, President of Russia, Ali Khamenei, Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and Bashar al-Assad, President of Syria, “criminals,” they wrote: “These criminals will one day be tried for crimes against humanity.”
Russia had deployed tens of thousands of military forces on the border with Ukraine months earlier. Vladimir Putin, President of Russia, issued the order to begin military operations in Ukraine on the morning of Thursday, February 24th.
Joe Biden, President of the United States, in a televised address in response to Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, said that Putin is an aggressor, he chose this war and will bear its costs.
The United States on Friday, March 27th, sanctioned Vladimir Putin, President of Russia, and Sergey Lavrov, Russian Foreign Minister.
Source: Voice of America
