Iranian regime ramps up intimidation of families of victims of Flight PS752
As four years since the downing of the Ukrainian commercial flight by two Iranian missiles draws closer and progress has been made in recent months at the International Court of Justice, the families of the victims of Flight PS752, based in Iran and Canada, denounce an increase in acts of intimidation against them by the Iranian regime.
Members of the Association of Families of the Victims of Flight PS752 in Toronto on July 5, 2023, after the case was referred to the International Court of Justice. Navaz Ebrahim, president, is the second person from the right. © Léopold Picot / RFI
By: Léopold Picot Follow
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From our correspondent in Canada,
On January 8, 2020, a Ukraine International Airlines Boeing was shot down by two Iranian missiles shortly after takeoff from Tehran airport. All 176 people on board, including 85 Canadian nationals, died in the tragedy. After denying it for several days, the Iranian authorities, in the face of irrefutable evidence, admitted their responsibility for the crash.
Read alsoUkrainian Boeing shot down: an Iranian report points to "human error"
Since then, an association of victims' families has emerged to seek justice for the Iranian regime's actions. While the information from the black box was retrieved by the Bureau d'Enquêtes et d'Analyses pour la Sécurité de l'Aviation Civile in Paris, the investigation was conducted by the Iranian state itself. A report by the Iranian Civil Aviation Authority (CAO), published on Saturday, July 11, 2020, pointed to "a failure due to human error in the follow-up of the procedure", in a tense military context with the United States after the assassination of General Qassem Soleimani.
Harassment on the rise
Since then, the families of the victims have been fighting in the Association of Families of the Victims of Flight PS752. Navaz Ebrahim quickly became involved in the association and is now its president: "I lost my sister and brother-in-law on that flight. They were on their way to London, UK, that evening. They were among the few British passengers present. In the two months following the tragedy, we came together, and we have been working ever since, grieving at the same time. »
Read alsoThree years after the crash, the political struggle of the families of flight PS752 against the Iranian regime
Canada is among the countries involved in seeking a trial at the International Court of Justice and an independent investigation. At the end of November 2023, on X (formerly Twitter), Global Affairs Canada denounced a "campaign of harassment and intimidation" against the families of the victims of flight PS752.
Canada is deeply concerned about new reports of intimidation of family members of the victims of Flight PS752. We call on Iran to immediately cease its campaign of harassment and intimidation of these families.
— Foreign Policy CAN (@CanadaFP) November 29, 2023
In an email exchange with RFI, the Canadian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that "Canada's priority remains to shed light on this tragedy and to demand justice by holding Iran to account and demanding reparations, while continuing to provide the families and loved ones of the victims with the support they need.
»Indeed, in addition to an upsurge in incessant phone calls from the Iranian regime to directly intimidate bereaved families, Navaz Ebrahim describes repressive actions against relatives of families still on Iranian territory, such as Manzar Zarrabi. She lost her son, daughter-in-law, daughter and five-year-old granddaughter in the downing of the plane.
Manzar was attending the funeral of high school student Armita Garavand – who fell into a coma under controversial circumstances in the Tehran metro and died in late October – when she was beaten and imprisoned for two days. "She was holding photos of her loved ones who died in the plane crash at the funeral. They took the placards from her hands and started beating her, dragging her on the ground and pushing her into the car to take her to prison," Ebrahim said.
Relatives of the families of the victims of Flight PS752 were also prevented from flying to Canada from Iran to commemorate the four-year anniversary of the tragedy. Their passports were confiscated and proceedings were brought before the Revolutionary Court. Other cases are referenced by the association, but prefer to remain anonymous for fear of reprisals.
A lengthy legal process
How can we explain such an upsurge in attacks on the families of the victims? For Navaz Ebrahim, there are several factors. First, the recent success of the opening of a trial at the International Court of Justice: "Last July, our case was brought before the International Court of Justice by the four countries concerned [Canada, Ukraine, the United Kingdom and Sweden, whose nationals lost their lives in this crash, editor's note]. Even before this major step, there was a lot of systematic harassment against families. But since then, we've noticed much more frequent, more daring harassment. The victims' families are hoping to seek interim measures from the International Court of Justice to stop Iran's harassment campaigns.
In a context of protests against the Iranian regime in the country, the desire to prevent any demonstration on the anniversary date may also be one of the reasons for this increase, says the president of the association. However, she hopes that families will continue to denounce acts of repression, openly. "We hope that other people who are being harassed, who wish to remain anonymous, will come forward and allow us to speak openly about their identity and their case of harassment. In this way, we will be able to strengthen our first request, provisional measures, to the International Court of Justice," Navaz hopes.
Despite the fear and the risk of reprisals, the families of the victims of Flight PS752 do not plan to stop their struggle in Iran, as in Canada or the United Kingdom. "They think they can scare us, but they cause the opposite result. It pushes us to fight even harder, because we have nothing to lose. We have reached this point, we will continue our fight and nothing will stop us," said Navaz Ebrahim.
The legal proceedings at the International Court will still be long: the four countries concerned (Canada, Ukraine, Sweden and the United Kingdom) have one year to prepare their arguments against the Iranian regime, which will then have one year to present its defence.
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