Endless lies of a crime; which trial, which verdict?

On the eve of the anniversary of the downing of the Ukrainian passenger plane, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said: "Those responsible for this incident must be tried in a fair court, and the government insists on this, and the judiciary will definitely do this."

The performance of all the Islamic Republic's institutions and officials for a year, from the Revolutionary Guard Corps, which was responsible for the downing and deaths of 176 passengers, to the judiciary, which has taken charge of investigating this case, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the government, which have been in contact and dialogue with the families of the victims and the countries involved in this crime, leaves little hope for accepting the claim that the Islamic Republic is truly seeking to announce the reasons for shooting down a passenger plane and punishing its commanders and main perpetrators in a transparent process.

Hassan Rouhani has spoken of his government's emphasis on the need to establish a "fair trial for those responsible for the incident," while Ali Fadavi, deputy commander of the Revolutionary Guards, had explicitly stated on December 6 of this year: "The judicial investigation into the downing of the Ukrainian passenger plane by the IRGC's missiles has been completed, and all that remains is for the judge to issue a verdict."

He, who had also announced the simulation of firing at the plane, said, "Our emphasis is that both the judge's verdict and the blood money obligation for the martyrs of this accident be determined before its anniversary."

A month after these words, Hassan Rouhani is now, by emphasizing the need to hold a trial for those responsible for the disaster, effectively confirming that the words of the deputy commander of the Revolutionary Guards are not true and should be considered another lie, a continuation of previous lies by various officials of the Islamic Republic in this case.

According to Ali Fadavi's promise, it was now time to identify the perpetrators of the disaster and announce the punishments imposed on them. However, since this has not been done in principle, contrary to his explicit promise, Gholamhossein Esmaili, the spokesman for the judiciary, has finally entered the fray and announced: "The investigation into the Ukrainian plane crash case has been completed and will be sent to the court by the end of January."

Statements from the families of the victims also indicate that no concrete action has been taken in this regard. A number of family members recently appeared at the Tehran Military Court and protested the handling of their complaint case and demanded the resignation of some officials.

As with many cases that never reach a conclusion, the survivors of the victims, above all, want the truth to be revealed; something that, given the Islamic Republic's record, has no hope of coming true.

After several days of concealment, deception, and lies, various officials of the Islamic Republic, both in the IRGC and in the government, finally admitted, under pressure from public opinion at home and abroad, that the plane was shot down by IRGC missiles, but they declared the cause to be simply "human error."

Although both the families and the governments of Ukraine and Canada have denied this claim, saying that the reason for allowing the flight and then shooting down the passenger plane on January 8 of last year was something more than "human error," there is no indication that the judiciary, even if it issues a verdict, will go one bit beyond the claims of the Islamic Republic's officials as the defendants in this case and take any steps to clarify the truth of the matter.

In this regard, all institutions, organizations, and various government departments, from the three branches of government to the armed forces, have been aligned and in agreement.

In such a case, there is no room for the various factions of the government to show off their "extremism" and "moderation." While the judiciary and security agencies within the country are working to suppress any protests against the missile attack on the passenger plane and then to investigate the case, at the same time, the government, led by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is playing a similar role in the international arena and, by rejecting the petition of the families of the victims, is trying to render international follow-ups, especially those from Ukraine and Canada, futile and fruitless.

From the perspective of those who want to shed light on the various aspects of the truth and the real reasons for such a tragedy, the authorities' talk of blood money and calling the victims martyrs is considered part of this process of lies and concealment to prevent the truth of the incident from being revealed.

Both the families and the Ukrainian government have made it clear that before compensation can be determined, the real reasons for allowing the Ukrainian passenger plane to fly and then being shot down must first be clarified.

But dragging the discussion to paying $150,000 in compensation for each of the victims, as well as considering a number of passengers who were Iranian citizens as martyrs, will never lead to the identification and punishment of the main perpetrators and perpetrators, and thus prevent similar tragedies from occurring.

The Islamic Republic's refusal to identify the perpetrators of this crime is just another manifestation of the irresponsibility of officials who, over the past four decades, have become accustomed to ignoring questions, not being accountable, and prioritizing the interests of the ruling group over national interests.

Source: Radio Farda