Spokesperson for the 752 Flight Association: Do not allow IRGC commanders to Canada under the pretext of accompanying the national team
A spokesperson for the Association of Families of Flight 752 Victims says that if visas are issued to IRGC commanders "under the pretext of accompanying" the football team in a friendly match against Canada, the families of the victims will hold a protest rally in Vancouver.
On Thursday evening, May 12, Hamed Esmailiyon tweeted that the IRGC commanders were "criminals" who "pepper spray little girls and deprive women of sports."
He further warned the Canadian government that if visas are issued to these individuals under the pretext of accompanying the national soccer team, the families of the victims of Flight 752 will appear in Vancouver with photos of the victims.
A spokesperson for the Flight 752 Families Association tweeted on Friday morning, referring to negotiations with Vancouver police and city officials to hold a protest rally: "By collective decision, members of the Families Association will not enter the stadium."
The official website of the Iranian Football Federation announced on Wednesday that the Iranian football team will play a friendly match against the Canadian football team in Vancouver on June 5th in its first warm-up match before participating in the 2022 World Cup.
Following the release of videos of Morteza Talaei, the former chief of Tehran's police, in Canada in recent months, eight human rights organizations warned the Canadian government in an open letter in mid-February last year that the country should not become a safe haven for IRGC commanders.
Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752 was shot down by two anti-aircraft missiles fired by the Revolutionary Guard Corps on the morning of January 8, 2019, shortly after taking off from Tehran International Airport, killing all 176 people on board.
The Ontario Supreme Court in Canada has ruled that the shooting down of the plane by the IRGC was intentional and a terrorist act.
Ukraine, Canada, and the families of the victims of this flight have stated, based on available evidence, that the Islamic Republic used this plane as a "human shield" against a possible US response to Iran's nighttime attack on the Ain al-Assad base in Iraq.
Source: Radio Farda
