On this first anniversary of the destruction of the Boeing of Ukraine Airlines, near Tehran, by missiles from the Revolutionary Guards (the ideological army of the regime), the families of the victims went to the scene of the tragedy on Thursday January 7. , in Shahedshahr. Not without tensions, because the police had first blocked the road leading to this locality, before letting the families pass. Photos of the 176 victims, mostly young Iranians living in Canada, decorated with bouquets of flowers, and a poster “Why did you kill us? “ carpeted the floor, as screams and tears occasionally broke the silence. In a video posted on social media, another gathering of the families of the victims is seen on the same day, this time at Tehran’s Imam-Khomeini airport. An elderly man speaks to a small crowd, dressed in black: “Death to the assassins who killed our children. We demand justice! “
January 8, 2020, as Iran carried out strikes against an American base in Iraq, in retaliation for the assassination by an American drone of Iranian General Ghassem Soleimani – head of the Revolutionary Guard branch responsible for extraterritorial operations – , two surface-to-air missiles were fired, hitting a civilian plane that had left Tehran for Ukraine. For three days, as Canadian, Ukrainian and American authorities evoked direct responsibility for Tehran, Iranian leaders denounced “False allegations”. But on January 11, 2020, the guards admitted their own responsibility.
Today, the investigation seems to have stalled. “According to international law, the country where the crash took place is supposed to be investigatingsays Payam Jamshidi, whose sister, Shadi, died, aged 32. But, in this case, it’s as if the assassin should investigate. From the start, the Iranians kept making contradictory statements and delaying everything. Everything is false in this affair. “
“A grandiose trial”
Families particularly point to the fact that, shortly after the crash, bulldozers rolled over to the scene of the tragedy, “Cleaning up the accident site, while everything had to remain intact for the investigation”, explains Payam Jamshidi to World, from London. “We have no hope that the investigation will advance in Iran”, he says. The Iranian also recalls that the burials of some victims in Iran took place under pressure from Iranian intelligence agents who sought to avoid any excesses or political slogan. For this first anniversary, some families say they have been threatened.
You have 49.47% of this article to read. The rest is for subscribers only.
