Student Response to Ukrainian Plane Downing: We Are Disgusted with You!

A group of Sharif University students, in a statement, expressed their disgust with officials over “a lifetime of lies, cover-ups, and audacity.” This statement was released on the anniversary of the downing of the Ukrainian passenger aircraft.

The Islamic Association of Sharif University students, in a statement marking the anniversary of the destruction of a Ukrainian passenger aircraft by missiles from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Aerospace Force, severely criticized Islamic Republic officials for their lack of accountability regarding this crime and the bloody crackdowns of recent years.

On December 9, 2019, Flight 752 from Tehran to Kyiv, shortly after takeoff from the airport, was hit by two air defense missiles from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Aerospace Force and crashed. All 176 passengers and crew members on the aircraft lost their lives.

Despite evidence and reports indicating that air defense missiles from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard had struck the aircraft, Islamic Republic officials, until December 21 and despite having precise knowledge of the cause of the incident, strongly denied these reports and provided false information.

“Shame on the Remnants of Conscience”

In their statement criticizing officials’ lack of accountability, Sharif University students wrote: “Shame on the remnants of conscience and blind honor. We witnessed three days of lies and drank a year of cover-ups, and we have been smelling audacity for a lifetime.”

Gholamali Turki, the military prosecutor of Tehran, announced two days ago (Friday evening, December 19) in a television program that dozens of people have been summoned in the investigation into the downing of Ukraine International Airlines’ passenger aircraft, including “even senior and mid-ranking military commanders.”

The military prosecutor’s office in Tehran, which was assigned to investigate this case, previously announced the arrest of six people in connection with the incident, later announced the release of three of them, and at another point stated that only one of the accused remained in detention.

Disgust with Lies and Unanswered Crimes

The Islamic Association of Sharif University students, referring to the bloody crackdowns of recent decades for which no one has been held accountable, wrote: “Now, on the anniversary of the downing of the Ukrainian aircraft, we clearly and transparently declare that we are disgusted with you; with your dishonesty and lies, with your irresponsibility and mismanagement, with your evasion of unanswered crimes for which no one has been willing to accept responsibility.”

The military prosecutor of Tehran claims that the investigation into the downing of the Ukrainian passenger aircraft has been completed and the case against the accused will soon be presented to the court.

Victims’ families and five countries whose citizens died in this tragedy believe that the reports presented so far are incomplete and unclear, they have not been included in the investigations, and the investigation does not address those who ordered the missile launch and the process that led to this disastrous decision.

Alireza Qandchi, who lost his wife and two children in the downing of the Ukrainian passenger aircraft, criticized Islamic Republic officials on the anniversary of this tragedy in an interview with DW Farsi, saying they have still not issued a comprehensive report about this disaster and are trying to hold “one person responsible for the murder of 176 people.”

Holding the Regime Accountable

In the aforementioned statement, it is emphasized that those who had a hand in the killing and suppression of protesters in recent years “have now killed 176 people and are evading accountability.” The students wrote: “Now and after years of efforts to stand against such obvious crimes, we apologize to the Iranian people that we have been unable to do so.”

The protesting students in this statement say that as part of civil society, they see themselves obligated to stand up “against these atrocities, bullying, and despotism” to the extent of their capability and capacity, and to “force the regime to be accountable,” and they apologize to the people for not having succeeded in this so far.

The Islamic Association of Sharif University students, regarding the reason for this failure, wrote: “Throughout all these years, the boots of various security institutions and the sharp blades of tyranny have targeted our jugular vein and blocked our way to breathe, and waves of arrests, threats, intimidation, and various interrogations have targeted the heart of the student movement.”

Nevertheless, the students consider themselves committed to standing firm, as much as they are able, “until the day when the laughter of freedom, justice, and prosperity blooms everywhere in the country” and the regime is forced to be accountable.

Source: DW