Statement of the Association of Families of Flight PS752 Victims Regarding the Proceedings before the ICAO Council
Last week, the ICAO Council held a meeting regarding the case filed by the four affected countries against the Islamic Republic of Iran’s downing of Flight PS752. At this meeting, the Islamic Republic was given until May 10 to produce its response.
On behalf of the Association, we thank the 36 respected members of the ICAO Council and hope that this process will help to reveal the truth behind the criminal downing of Flight PS752 that led to the murder of 176 human beings and an unborn child. We also ask the respected President and members of the ICAO Council to condemn the Islamic regime for committing this heinous crime and to initiate formal, independent investigations in this regard.
Our demands at this juncture are clear:
1- To disclose the entire contents of the aircraft’s black boxes, the complete manuscript of the TOR M1 missile units, and the closed-circuit video recordings of Tehran International Airport on the morning of January 8, 2020.
2- To permit the affected countries to meet and interview all witnesses and to have full, unhindered access to all available documents.
3- To permit representatives designated by our Association to be present in all proceedings.
4- To initiate the process of revising Annex 13 of the Chicago Convention such that criminal states such as the Islamic Republic will not be trusted with the authority to investigate crimes that are committed by the state itself.
Flight PS752 has been the only international civilian flight in the past four years that did not reach its destination. Revealing the truth behind this crime and justice for the victims and their families is the only hope they have to continue living. We hope that the respected members of the ICAO Council will pay close attention to all important details of this crime from the moment a flight permit was issued to the moment it was shot down, as well as the tragic events that followed, such as looting and theft of the passengers’ belongings, disturbance of evidence at the crime scene, tampering with mobile devices, and gross negligence in the DNA tests.
Justice can only be served when the truth is revealed, not only for the families but also for the international community.
