Canada, Sweden, Ukraine, and Britain filed a complaint on Monday with the United Nations' International Civil Aviation Organization against Iran over the downing of Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 in 2020, which killed 176 people.
The four nations, who all had citizens aboard the flight, accused Tehran of unlawfully using missiles against a civilian aircraft. The Boeing 737-800 was shot down shortly after takeoff from Tehran on January 8, 2020, amid heightened tensions following the U.S. assassination of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani.
Three days later, Iran admitted its Revolutionary Guard had mistakenly fired two missiles at the Kyiv-bound plane. Seeking reparations for victims' families, the four countries have already filed a case against Iran with the International Court of Justice in The Hague, and now have initiated dispute proceedings in Montreal, alleging Iran failed to conduct a fair criminal probe as required by international law.
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Last year, an Iranian court issued initial sentences for 10 unnamed defendants over the incident, including the air defence operator. While Iran set compensation of $150,000 for each victim's family and says it began payments in 2022, Tehran rejects accusations it is not cooperating transparently and has itself filed a case against Canada with the ICJ, claiming Canada violated its duties by enabling civil damages lawsuits against Iran.
(With inputs from news agencies)
