Canada, allies file notice of claim against Iran for downing flight PS752
Canada, Sweden, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom have delivered a notice of claim against Iran over its downing of Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752, the four countries said Thursday.
Foreign ministers from those countries, who lost citizens and residents when the jetliner was shot down shortly after taking off from Tehran in January 2020, said in a statement that Iran's "actions and omissions amount to breaches of international law."
The ministers said their countries, nationals and residents on board flight PS752 were seriously and irreversibly harmed by the tragedy.
"Iran must fulfil its legal responsibility to make full reparations to the group of states," the ministers said in a statement.
A followup statement said Afghanistan, which is the fifth member of the International Co-ordination and Response Group for families of victims of Flight 752, will remain a "key partner" but not take part in the coming negotiations as it deals with a series of attacks in Kabul.
The other four ministers called on Iran to set a date to begin talks on the issue.
Their demands include an acknowledgment of wrongdoing, a full accounting of events that led to Iran's Revolutionary Guard firing two missiles at the plane, a public apology, reassurances it will not happen again, transparent prosecutions and compensation for damages suffered by the victims and their families.
Canada has rejected a final report by Iran's civil aviation authority that blames "human error" for the Revolutionary Guard firing at the plane.
The Revolutionary Guard shot the missiles at Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 shortly after it took off from Tehran on Jan. 8 last year, when "the aircraft was misidentified as a hostile target by an air defence unit," says the Iranian agency's final report into the crash.
Transport Minister Omar Alghabra and Foreign Affairs Minister Marc Garneau largely dismissed the 145-page document, which was posted to the website of Iran's Civil Aviation Organization.
"The report has really avoided addressing the substance and the real reasons behind shooting down the plane," Alghabra said in an interview in March.
Alghabra said the report fails to explain why Iran kept most of its airspace open to commercial traffic despite having just launched a missile strike against a pair of U.S. military facilities across the border in Iraq.
All 176 people on board the jetliner were killed, including 55 Canadian citizens, 30 permanent residents and dozens of others bound for Canada. The Tehran-Kyiv route has been an inexpensive first leg of a trip from Iran to Canada.
The federal government continues to call for a "comprehensive and transparent" investigation conducted according to international standards. A Canadian forensic team will produce its own report based partly on intelligence "in the coming days," Alghabra said.
Human Rights Watch said in a new report last week that Iran has harassed families of passengers killed aboard flight 752.
The organizations said that from last fall until January, it spoke with 31 family members of victims and "people with direct knowledge" of how Iranian authorities treated relatives.
It reported that 16 people said security officials threatened them not to speak with foreign media or followed relatives and friends who attended memorials.
"Family members said that in several instances, the authorities interfered with burial and memorial services, pressuring families to accept the government's 'martyrdom' status for their loved ones, and published photos and videos without the permission of the families at services," it read.
One person taken into custody was also tortured, the report said, detailing how in at least three cases family members were told they would face consequences if they didn't remove critical social media posts against the government.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 3, 2021.
----
This story was produced with the financial assistance of the Facebook and Canadian Press News Fellows.
IN DEPTH
Budget 2024 prioritizes housing while taxing highest earners, deficit projected at $39.8B
In an effort to level the playing field for young people, in the 2024 federal budget, the government is targeting Canada's highest earners with new taxes in order to help offset billions in new spending to enhance the country's housing supply and social supports.
'One of the greatest': Former prime minister Brian Mulroney commemorated at state funeral
Prominent Canadians, political leaders, and family members remembered former prime minister and Progressive Conservative titan Brian Mulroney as an ambitious and compassionate nation-builder at his state funeral on Saturday.
'Democracy requires constant vigilance' Trudeau testifies at inquiry into foreign election interference in Canada
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau testified Wednesday before the national public inquiry into foreign interference in Canada's electoral processes, following a day of testimony from top cabinet ministers about allegations of meddling in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections. Recap all the prime minister had to say.
As Poilievre sides with Smith on trans restrictions, former Conservative candidate says he's 'playing with fire'
Siding with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith on her proposed restrictions on transgender youth, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre confirmed Wednesday that he is against trans and non-binary minors using puberty blockers.
Supports for passengers, farmers, artists: 7 bills from MPs and Senators to watch in 2024
When parliamentarians return to Ottawa in a few weeks to kick off the 2024 sitting, there are a few bills from MPs and senators that will be worth keeping an eye on, from a 'gutted' proposal to offer a carbon tax break to farmers, to an initiative aimed at improving Canada's DNA data bank.
Opinion
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
opinion Don Martin: The doctor Trudeau dumped has a prescription for better health care
Political columnist Don Martin sat down with former federal health minister Jane Philpott, who's on a crusade to help fix Canada's broken health care system, and who declined to take any shots at the prime minister who dumped her from caucus.
opinion Don Martin: Trudeau's seeking shelter from the housing storm he helped create
While Justin Trudeau's recent housing announcements are generally drawing praise from experts, political columnist Don Martin argues there shouldn’t be any standing ovations for a prime minister who helped caused the problem in the first place.
opinion Don Martin: Poilievre has the field to himself as he races across the country to big crowds
It came to pass on Thursday evening that the confidentially predictable failure of the Official Opposition non-confidence motion went down with 204 Liberal, BQ and NDP nays to 116 Conservative yeas. But forcing Canada into a federal election campaign was never the point.
opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike
When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Serial sexual offender linked to unsolved 1970s homicides of four Calgary girls, women
An investigation into unsolved historical homicides from the 1970s has linked the deaths of two girls and two young women in and around Calgary to a now-deceased serial offender.
Woman with liver failure rejected for a transplant after medical review highlights alcohol use
For nearly three months, Amanda Huska has been in an Ontario hospital, part of it on life support, because of severe liver failure. Her history of alcohol use is getting in the way of her only potential treatment: a liver transplant.
Video appears to show Sean 'Diddy' Combs beating singer Cassie in hotel hallway in 2016
Security video aired by CNN appears to show Sean 'Diddy' Combs physically assaulting singer Cassie in a Los Angeles hotel hallway in 2016.
Scottie Scheffler isn't the first pro golfer to be arrested during a tournament
Scottie Scheffler's arrest hours before his second-round tee time at the PGA Championship in Louisville, Kentucky, will go down as one of the most shocking in professional golf history. It certainly wasn't the first, though.
B.C. man 'attacked suddenly' by adult grizzly near Alberta border: RCMP
A B.C. man is recovering from multiple injuries after he was "attacked suddenly" by an adult grizzly bear near Elkford Thursday afternoon.
Anglers reel in 3.5-metre-long tiger shark off coast of Florida: 'She found my bait'
A group of fishers said it took roughly 20 minutes to reel in this 3.5-metre-long tiger shark off the coast of Florida.
Australia's richest woman seeks removal of her portrait from exhibition
Art is subjective. And while many artists long to share their work with the world, there's no guarantee that the audience will understand it, or even like it.
Canadian convicted of attacking Nancy Pelosi's husband with a hammer sentenced to 30 years
The man convicted of attempting to kidnap then-U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and attacking her husband with a hammer was sentenced Friday to 30 years in prison.
NEW What a wildfire survivor says she regrets not grabbing before leaving home
Carol Christian had 15 minutes to evacuate her home during the Fort McMurray wildfires in 2016. She ended up losing the house and everything inside. Now, she wants to share the lessons she learned.
Local Spotlight
'Another pair of eyes watching over me:' How a B.C. woman's service dog saved her from drowning
A B.C. woman says her service dog pulled her from a lake moments before she had a seizure, saving her life.
Starbucks fan on decades-long journey to visit every store in the world
A Starbucks fan — whose name is Winter — is visiting Canada on a purposeful journey that began with a random idea at one of the coffee chain's stores in Texas.
'Sacred work': Sask. First Nation learning how to conduct its own underground searches
Members of Piapot First Nation, students from the University of Winnipeg and various other professionals are learning new techniques that will hopefully be used for ground searches of potential unmarked grave sites in the future.
'It could mean a cure': Cautious optimism for groundbreaking ALS research at Western
ALS patient Mathew Brown said he’s hopeful for future ALS patients after news this week of research at Western University of a potential cure for ALS.
B.C. musician's song catches attention of Canucks
When Adam Kirschner wrote 'Slap Shot,' he never imagined the song would be embraced by his favourite team.
'We're on standby': Team ready to help entangled right whale in Gulf of St. Lawrence
A team is ready to help an entangled North Atlantic right whale in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
Thieves caught on camera stealing pet chicken from North Vancouver backyard
A $200 reward is being offered by a North Vancouver family for the safe return of their beloved chicken, Snowflake.
Adopted daughter in the Netherlands reunited with sister in Montreal and mother in Colombia, 40 years later
Two daughters and a mother were reunited online 40 years later thanks to a DNA kit and a Zoom connection despite living on three separate continents and speaking different languages.
'Reimagining Mother's Day': Toronto woman creates Motherless Day event after losing mom
Mother's Day can be a difficult occasion for those who have lost or are estranged from their mom.