Iran Issues Prison Sentences for 2020 Downing of Ukraine Airliner

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Facts

  • Iranian media reported on Sunday that at least 10 Iranian military personnel were convicted for their involvement in the shooting down of Ukrainian Airlines Flight 752 in 2020 following the killing of the Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani.1
  • The commander of the Tor-M1 surface-to-air missile defense system that shot down the plane with two missiles was reportedly the case's main suspect, and he received a 10-year discretionary sentence for not heeding orders and three years for being an “accessory to semi-intentional murder.”2
  • Local media reported that the commander had defied orders and that the nine other military personnel received prison terms of between one and three years for their involvement. None of those convicted were identified by name.3
  • The case reportedly began immediately after the incident, and the commander was ordered to pay fines to the families of the victims. The verdicts are said to be appealable within 20 days.4
  • The incident occurred on Jan. 8, 2020, when Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) shot down the Ukrainian plane shortly after take-off from Tehran, resulting in the deaths of all 176 people on board, which included passengers from Canada, Ukraine, Britain, and Afghanistan.5
  • The downing of the plane came only days after the US killed top IRGC commander Qassem Soleimani in a drone strike in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad. Iran then fired missiles at US bases in Iraq in response to the killing.6

Sources: 1CNN, 2Al Jazeera, 3Dw.com, 4Abc news, 5Al arabiya english and 6BBC News.

Narratives

  • Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by Al mayadeen english. Contrary to Western media's coverage of this tragic incident, Iran has done everything to rectify this tragedy. Indeed, the incident was the result of human error, as, following the US's unlawful extrajudicial killing of a senior Iranian military commander, tensions were running particularly high. Justice has been served.
  • Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by Radiofreeeurope/radioliberty. Though Iranian media is touting these court verdicts as justice, in reality, it was a closed-show trial that is an insult to the families of the victims. Canada, Britain, Sweden, and Ukraine should formally complain about Iran at the International Court of Justice and continue to press Iran on this heinous act.