The downing of the UIA plane: the countries whose citizens died in the plane crash demand that Iran agree to arbitration

Canada, Sweden, Ukraine and Great Britain demand that Iran agree to arbitration of the dispute over the downing of the UIA flight over Tehran. Then 176 people died.

The press service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs writes about this.

It was noted there that all these countries are parties to the Montreal Convention of 1971. This convention requires countries to prohibit, prevent and punish offenses against civil aviation, including the unlawful and intentional destruction of an aircraft.

"In particular, we have requested that Iran submits to binding arbitration of the dispute related to the downing of Flight PS752 by 2 surface-to-air missiles launched unlawfully and intentionally by members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) air defence unit pursuant to Article 14 of the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Civil Aviation of 1971," the countries said.

They noted that this move is part of an overall strategy aimed at ensuring justice for the victims of the tragedy and their families.

• On January 8, 2020, UIA passenger flight PS752 was shot down by two air defense missiles in the capital of Iran. All 176 people on board, including 57 Canadian citizens, died. Within days, Iran admitted that its forces accidentally shot down the plane. On January 9, intelligence agencies of the USA and EU countries reported that the military was to blame for the tragedy. Ukrainian authorities declared Iranʼs responsibility on January 11.
• The Ministry of Defense of Iran considers responsible for the tragedy the operator of the missile system, who violated the rules of firing "without permission". The air defense complex "forgot" to reconfigure after the move, so it mistakenly identified the plane as a target.
• On March 17, 2021, Iran released the final report on the plane crash. Ukraine called it cynical and manipulative. Soon, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine accused Iran of manipulation and refusal to cooperate in the investigation.
• On January 8, 2022, the Prosecutor Generalʼs Office named the alleged perpetrators of the crime.