Ukraine, Canada, Sweden, and Britain have told Iran that it has three weeks to reverse its refusal to address demands for reparations after the downing of a Ukrainian passenger airliner last year.
“The Coordination Group’s patience is wearing thin,” the four countries said in a statement on December 16, adding that they told Tehran it had until Jan 5, 2022 to respond or the countries would “have to seriously consider other actions to resolve this matter within the framework of international law” but gave no details.
Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) flight PS752 crashed on January 8, 2020, while en route to Kyiv, killing all 176 people on board. More than 130 of the passengers had ties to Canada. Citizens or residents of Afghanistan, Britain, Iran, Ukraine, and Sweden were also killed.
Days after official denials, Iran admitted that a unit of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) had inadvertently shot down the plane when it fired two missiles amid heightened tensions with the United States.
The group said on December 16 that Iran had shown reluctance to open talks on reparations and to deliver justice in a timely manner.
Families of victims said in a report last month that high-ranking Iranian officials were responsible.
In June, Canada said it had found no evidence that the downing of the plane had been premeditated.
In May, Human Rights Watch accused Iranian security agencies of harassing and abusing families of the victims of the Ukrainian passenger jet in order to “squash any hope for justice.”
Source » rferl