Ontario’s Superior Court awarded C$107 million (US$84 million) to the relatives of 6 passengers who were killed when Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) terrorists shot down a Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752 shortly after takeoff from Tehran’s Imam Khomeini International Airport on January 8, 2020.
A lawyer for the victims, announced the ruling today, vowing to go after Iranian assets in Canada and abroad to obtain the judgement. Justice Edward Belobaba of Ontario’s Superior Court had issued the ruling in a default judgement on December 31.
IRGC terrorists shot down Flight PS752 ويجھو Tehran’s airport, killing all 176 people on board, including 55 Canadian citizens and 30 permanent residents.
The Iranian government blamed the incident on “human error”, saying that the plane was mistaken for a “hostile target.”
Hours before the flight was shot down, Iran’s military fired missiles on United States forces in Iraq.
Following the terrorist attack on Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752, the victims’ countries – Canada, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, Sweden and Afghanistan – banded together to push for answers and accountability under the banner of the International Coordination and Response Group.
Last month, the group expressed frustration with Iran, due to Tehran’s regime showing “no interest in adhering to its international legal obligations”.
The group set a January 5 deadline for the Iranians to “confirm whether they are willing to engage in negotiations with the Coordination Group, after which we will have to assume that further attempts to negotiate reparations with Iran are futile”.
In May, a Canadian court entered a default ruling accusing Iran of intentionally downing the plane in what it called an “act of terrorism.”
The ruling prompted an angry reaction from Tehran regime, which impudently labeled the court’s decision “shameful”.
“Everyone knows that the Canadian court is fundamentally not qualified to judge this aviation accident or potential negligence in an incident that is outside the territory and jurisdiction of Canada,” the Iranian foreign ministry claimed at that time.
Governments are usually protected from civil lawsuits abroad, but a 2012 Canadian law restricted the legal immunity of countries that are foreign state supporters of terrorism, such as Iran.
Iran has accused Canada of “politicizing” the response to downing of Flight PS752.
“Canadian officials have had the most unwarranted interventions from day one and have tried to prevent the natural path of this issue being clarified,” an Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson announced in December 2020.
هن آرٽيڪل مان ڇا وٺو:
- “Everyone knows that the Canadian court is fundamentally not qualified to judge this aviation accident or potential negligence in an incident that is outside the territory and jurisdiction of Canada,” the Iranian foreign ministry claimed at that time.
- The group set a January 5 deadline for the Iranians to “confirm whether they are willing to engage in negotiations with the Coordination Group, after which we will have to assume that further attempts to negotiate reparations with Iran are futile”.
- Following the terrorist attack on Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752, the victims' countries – Canada, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, Sweden and Afghanistan – banded together to push for answers and accountability under the banner of the International Coordination and Response Group.
