United Kingdom, Canada, Sweden, and Ukraine have jointly requested the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to initiate proceedings against Iran regarding the 2020 shooting down of a Ukrainian passenger plane, according to legal filings released on Wednesday. The incident resulted in the tragic loss of all 176 individuals on board.
The Ukrainian International Airlines flight was shot down by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards on 8 January, 2020, shortly after departing from Tehran Airport, with Iranian officials describing it as a “disastrous mistake” at the time.
In their application to the ICJ, also known as the World Court, the four nations accused Iran of violating several obligations under the Montreal Convention, which aims to ensure the safety of civilian air travel. They claimed that Iran failed to take necessary measures to prevent the downing of Flight PS752 and neglected to conduct an unbiased, transparent, and fair criminal investigation and prosecution.
The majority of the victims were citizens of the four countries involved, prompting the formation of a coordination group dedicated to holding Iran accountable.
Iran has maintained that its forces mistakenly shot down the Boeing 737 jet during a period of heightened tensions between Tehran and Washington. A final report issued in 2021 attributed the incident to a misaligned radar and an error made by an air defense operator.
