Ceremony Held to Commemorate Victims of Ukraine Plane Crash

A ceremony was held in Tehran’s main cemetery on Sunday to commemorate the victims of the Ukrainian plane that was mistakenly shot down in January 2020, taking the lives of 176 passengers and crew aboard. 
A number of military and government officials, including members of the Foundation of Martyrs and Veteran Affairs, attended the event, ISNA reported. 
The graves of victims located in 14 other provinces were also visited by local officials who paid tribute on behalf of all top authorities. 
In a separate ceremony, the location where the plane had fallen in Tehran’s Shahriar county was also covered in flowers. 
Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 was a scheduled international civilian passenger flight from Tehran to Kyiv, operated by Ukraine International Airlines. 
On January 8, 2020, it was shot down by an air defense unit of the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps after mistakenly identifying it as an American cruise missile, killing all passengers and crew. 
On the anniversary of the incident, Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces Mohammad Baqeri, issued a statement, expressing condolences to the families of the “best children of Iran.”
“The appalling incident … happened due to the special defense and security situation governing the country and the wrong assessment of the defense unit,” he said. 
He added that the Armed Forces is still committed to upholding the legal rights of the families of the victims as in the first days. 
“The legal case of the incident is still open in the judicial system and is being reviewed by the relevant court, and the Armed Forces will spare no effort in cooperating until the closure of the case,” he said. 
Head of the martyrs’ foundation, Amir Hossein Qazizadeh Hashemi, who attended the ceremony in Tehran’s cemetery, said those who died during the tragic incident are considered martyrs, which means their families can enjoy the services of the foundation. 
“Out of the 133 Iranian families, the dossiers of 73 families have been prepared and the foundation is ready to prepare a file and offer services to the others as well,” he said, adding that the foundation is also ready to admit the families who reside abroad. 

Lawsuit and Damages

Spokesman for the Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Abolfazl Amoui provided some details about the latest status of the lawsuit and compensations. 
Based on the legal aviation conventions, Iran was tasked to provide a report of the accident to International Civil Aviation Organization, which was submitted within 10 months, according to the lawmaker. 
The report said: “The plane was identified as a hostile target due to a mistake by the air defense operator ... near Tehran and two missiles were fired at it,” according to the agency’s website.
“Courts are also being held where the victims and their lawyers can file petitions … 10 people known for malpractice have been put to trial,” Amoui said.  
In response to why the process has lasted so long, he said some agents of the victims’ families pointed out flaws in the initial report, so it was returned for reform and completion. 
“The reformed report is now the basis of the lawsuit and court sessions resumed two weeks ago,” he said, noting that a new session is due in the near future. 
Regarding damages, he explained that part of it pertained to the aircraft which was paid by the insurance company. 
“A $150,000 compensation has been allocated to each victim, regardless of their nationality, age and gender,” he said.
The amount has been calculated based on the Chicago Convention (on international civil aviation) and expert assessments and is a conventional sum equaling similar international cases, according to Amoui. 
Any family member of the dead people can refer to a related fund at the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development to claim the damages, he said. 
Some families have received their compensation while the amount is reserved for those who have not yet claimed theirs. 
“They can receive the damages anytime and those who reside abroad can claim through their agents.” 

Arbitration

A group of countries led by Canada have called for an arbitrator to settle claims against Iran over its shooting down of the plane. 
Canada, Britain, Sweden and Ukraine have been seeking reparations on behalf of the victims’ families.
They said in a joint statement in late December that they “have requested that Iran submits to binding arbitration of the dispute related to the downing of Flight PS752,” under a 1971 multilateral treaty on threats to civil aviation.
If the parties cannot agree within six months on the terms for organizing an independent arbitration tribunal, the dispute may be referred to the International Court of Justice in The Hague.
The group of countries accuses Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps of having “launched unlawfully and intentionally” two surface-to-air missiles at the jetliner.
Iranian authorities declared that the shooting-down was a “disastrous mistake” by forces who were on high alert during a regional confrontation with the United States.
The incident coincided with Iran’s missile attack on American locations in Iraq in retaliation for the assassination of General Qasem Soleimani.
The group of countries have accused Iran of not following international practice, claiming that the report contained inconsistencies and lacked hard facts and evidence.