Ukraine files lawsuit in ICJ against Iran for downing UIA plane

That's according to a Joint statement from the International Coordination and Response Group for the victims of Flight PS752, published on the Foreign Ministry's website, Ukrinform reports.

"We, ministers representing Canada, Sweden, Ukraine and the United Kingdom, have taken an important step in our clective effort to ensure Iran is held accountable for the unlawful downing of Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 (Flight PS752). Iran failed to respond to our request for arbitration sent on December 28, 2022. As a result, this week in The Hague, we have jointly filed an application with the International Court of Justice instituting proceedings against Iran in relation to their breaches of the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Civil Aviation of 1971," the statement reads.

The authors of the statement added that the joint legal action reflects our unwavering commitment to achieving transparency, justice and accountability for the families of the victims.

Read also: Iran must be held to account for downing of UIA Flight 752 – G7

As reported, on January 8, 2020, a UIA plane flying PS752 from Tehran to Kyiv was shot down in the skies over Iran. There were citizens of Iran, Canada, Ukraine, Sweden, Afghanistan, and the United Kingdom on board.

All 176 pele died, including eleven Ukrainians (nine crew members and two passengers). After several days of denials, Iranian authorities admitted that the Ukrainian plane was mistakenly shot down by an air defense missile system.

On January 5, 2021, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said that Ukraine had received a draft technical report from Iran on the circumstances of the plane crash.

In early 2022, Iran officially refused to continue negotiations on the investigation of the crash. Tehran td Canada, Sweden, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom that it refused to negotiate over the UIA plane crash.

In a joint statement on December 29, 2022, Canada, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and Ukraine called on Iran to agree to arbitrate the dispute over the downing of Ukraine International Airlines flight PS752.

On April 16 this year, a court in Iran sentenced ten Iranian military personnel in connection with the crash of a Ukrainian passenger plane over Tehran in 2020.

The International Coordination Group for the Victims of Flight PS752 believes that Iran's trial in the case of the downing of the Ukrainian UIA plane was not impartial and transparent, and says it will make every effort to ensure justice.

Photo: AA