Flight PS752 victims' families urge ICC to open war crimes probe against Iran

Families of the victims who lost their lives in the Iranian destruction of Ukrainian Flight PS752 have submitted a request to the International Criminal Court to investigate the case as a war crime or a crime against humanity.

The families submitted the request through their lawyers on Wednesday after complaining of a lag in the process of holding those responsible to account.

"We have no indication of a roadmap to justice or a timeline of action from the affected countries, especially Canada," said Hamed Esmaeilion, spokesman and president of 752AFV, the association representing the families. 

His wife and nine-year-old daughter were killed in the tragedy.

"The affected countries, they have acted with a glacial pace that has been marred by bureaucracy and a wishful thinking attitude toward a meaningful negotiation with the Islamic Republic of Iran."

The request to the ICC listed a number of crimes that the Iranian government could be prosecuted for including: "the war crimes of wilful killing, intentionally directing attacks against the civilian population or civilian objects, outrages upon personal dignity and pillage, as well as the crimes against humanity of murder and 'other inhumane acts'".

Last year, the Canadian government held Iran fully responsible for the downing of the flight, which the families of victims hoped would pave way for justice.

However, Canada did not follow through by launching a criminal investigation -- a necessary step to gather evidence to prove Iran's role in the downing.

Ukraine International Airlines flight PS752, which was hit on 8 January 2020, by two Iranian missiles after taking off from Tehran.

All 167 passengers and nine crew were killed in the downing. 

An investigation by Iran blamed the incident on human error, claiming that an air defence unit had believed the Boeing 737-800 was a US missile. 

The downing of the plane occurred during a period of heighten tension between the US and Iran, and just days after a US drone strike killed Iranian general Qasem Soleimani.