Five years after the crash of Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752, relatives of the victims continue to demand that those responsible for the attack be brought to justice. Ceremonies and gatherings are taking place these days in the Toronto area, as elsewhere in the country, to mark this sad anniversary.
The plane was shot down on January 8, 2020 by two missiles fired by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, minutes after taking off from Tehran.
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Debris from flight PS752 which crashed near Tehran on January 8, 2020.
Photo : Associated Press / Ebrahim Noroozi
All 176 people on board died, including 55 Canadian citizens, 30 permanent residents as well as foreign students who attended Canadian educational institutions.
Another sharp pain
Honestly, it’s like the first day
said Behnaz Abedi during a meeting Tuesday at a Toronto cemetery. His son’s fiancée died in the accident.
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Behnaz Abedi’s son lost his fiancée in the accident.
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Of course, you become emotionally stronger and learn to manage your feelings. But it’s something so difficult, it’s still too hard to believe.
She found it important to be there, on this cold day, to support the other relatives of the victims. We are like a family.
Truth and justice
But beyond the pain, the families of the victims want Iran to answer for its actions.
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Maral Gorginpour’s husband died in the accident, just three days after their wedding.
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True justice would have been for them to arrive safely
“, says Maral Gorginpour, who lost her husband in the accident, just three days after their wedding.
What we want is to know the truth about what happened that day, and for the regime to be held accountable for the crime committed.
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Ceremonies will take place over the coming days in many Canadian cities including Montreal, Quebec, Ottawa, Toronto and Vancouver.
Photo : – / Jessica Chen
Hamed Esmaeilion, from the association of victims’ families, sums up their quest in two words: truth and justice
.
This dentist from the suburbs of Toronto, who lost his wife and daughter on January 8, 2020, denounces the Iranian regime and campaigns to obtain impartial proceedings before the courts. The trial which took place in Iran was, he recalls, a charade.
It was a mock trial, in Iran of course, he said. There were 10 accused, “10 pigeons” […]. We don’t know their real names. We don’t know if they were the ones who shot the plane.
According to him, senior officials were not present at the trial.
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Hamed Esmaeilion lost his wife and his 9-year-old daughter.
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There is no justice in the Islamic Republic. We await the day, in a free Iran, when an independent and impartial court will bring Ali Khamenei and his leaders to justice.
Proceedings have been initiated before the International Court of Justice. Canada, along with Sweden, Ukraine and the United Kingdom, also began dispute resolution procedures with the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) a year ago.
Iran has since filed preliminary objections with the ICAO Council. A hearing and decision on the preliminary objections will take place at the next ICAO Council session in winter 2025.
said a spokesperson for Global Affairs Canada.
Given the early stages of the case, it is premature to speculate on the issue of compensation.
he added.
With information from Jessica Chen
