The Iranian parents of two passengers on the Ukrainian plane which was shot down "
by mistake
" near Tehran in January 2020 have lodged a complaint against three of the country's top security officials, they announced Monday (January 10) in a reformist daily.
“
We filed a complaint against (the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council) Ali Chamkhani, (the leader of the Revolutionary Guards, the ideological army of the Islamic Republic of Iran), Hossein Salami, and (the leader of the aerospace branch of the Guardians) Amirali Hajizadeh
, ”said Mohsen Assadi-Lari, father of two victims, in an interview with the Shargh daily.
Read also Ukrainian Boeing shot dead: Iran says it has started to compensate families
On January 8, 2020, Iranian armed forces shot down the Boeing on Ukraine International Airlines flight PS752 to connect Tehran to Kiev, killing the 176 occupants, mostly Iranians and Canadians. They did not admit until three days later having shot down the aircraft "
by mistake
". Mohsen Assadi-Lari, Director General of International Affairs at the Ministry of Health at the time of the tragedy, and his wife lost their 23-year-old son Mohammad-Hossein and 21-year-old daughter Zeinab in the crash.
Later in the day, the Revolutionary Guards in a press release presented “
once again
” the condolences of their leader “
to this dear family and to the other great families of the martyrs of this theft
”.
"
We will spare no effort to alleviate the suffering of all families
," General Hossein Salami said according to the text published on Sepah News, the official website of the Guardians.
Several dozen relatives of victims gathered on Saturday near Tehran's international airport to demand justice and pay tribute to the victims, on the occasion of the second anniversary of the tragedy.
Read also Ukrainian Boeing shot dead in Iran: four countries denounce Tehran's attitude
On the night of the crash, Iran's air defenses were on high alert for fear of a US attack.
The Islamic Republic expected a response from Washington after attacking a base used by the US military in Iraq, in response to the elimination of General Qassem Soleimani, architect of Iran's regional strategy.
Iran said on Friday it had started compensating some of the families of the victims by paying "
$ 150,000
", promising to pay the rest of the relatives.