Ontario Court Rules Iran Intentionally Shot Down Civilian Plane
ONTARIO - Canada's Superior Court of Justice has given a ruling on the Iranian shoot-down of flight 752, saying that the act was both 'intentional' and 'an act of terrorism'.
Flight 752 (PS752) was a Ukrainian International Airlines Boeing 737-800 scheduled to fly from Tehran to Kyiv on January 8th, 2020.
Shortly after takeoff from Tehran Imam Khomeini International Airport, flight 737 was shot down by the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corp (IRGC) and all 176 passengers on the flight were killed.
Obtario Supreme Court Justice Edward Belobaba stated in his decision, "The plaintiffs have established that the shooting down of Flight 752 by the defendants was an act of terrorism and constitutes 'terrorist activity'".
Of the 176 passengers, there were 55 Canadian citizens on board and 30 permanent Canadian residents. 138 of the passengers had some form of ties or connections to Canada.
Justice Belobaba wrote, "I find on a balance of probabilities that the missile attacks on Flight 752 were intentional and directly caused the deaths of all onboard. I further find on a balance of probabilities that, at the time in question, there was no armed conflict in the region".
Due to the fact that Iran gave no defense to refute the evidence, the judgment by the Superior Court of Justice will remain as the default judgment of the court.
The judgment decided by the court will help pave the way for the families of the deceased to seek compensation from Iran for damages.
Justice Belobaba referenced reports by two experts that had been filed by the plaintiffs as he considered the final judgment on the incident.
Doctor Bahman Jeldi, who is an Iranian analyst at the Canadian Center for Persian Studies said that the IRGC purposefully shot down flight 752 with destructive intent in mind.
Jeldi stated, "Considering the TOR-M1 advanced military capabilities, two radars and control system, pre-approved flight plans and control of the airspace resting with the IRGC, and the firing of not one, but two missiles, it is not possible for two missiles to be fired by mistake as the IRGC claims. There are multiple redundant systems and procedures to prevent accidental shooting of civilian aircraft".
Alireza Nadar, from the Foundation for Defense Of Democracies was also referenced. Nader said, "It is highly unlikely that a technical 'misalignment' or 'human error' caused the IRGC operators to shoot down PS752".