TEHRAN (Dispatches) -- Iran’s foreign ministry on Friday condemned as “shameful” a Canadian court ruling that claimed a Ukraine airliner was shot down intentionally last year in an “act of terrorism”.
In a statement, ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said the ruling a day earlier by Ontario’s Superior Court of Justice lacks basis and legitimate evidence.
“Everyone knows that the Canadian court is fundamentally not qualified to judge this aviation accident or potential negligence in an incident that is outside the territory and jurisdiction of Canada,” he said, adding the ruling was predictable considering the country’s history of hostile moves against the Islamic Republic.
Ukraine Airlines Flight PS752 was shot down by two surface-to-air missiles fired from an air defense battery in early January 2020, killing all 176 people on board.
Iran’s final technical report earlier this year said it was an accident caused by “human error” as the missile system was not recalibrated on a tense night when Iran was expecting a potential aggression by the United States.
The IRGC had fired more than a dozen missiles earlier that night at two U.S. bases in neighboring Iraq in response to the terrorist U.S. assassination of Major-General Qassem Soleimani, the head of the Quds Force, in a drone strike ordered by former president Donald Trump.
But the Canadian court ruling claimed it was intentional. It said another hearing will take place in the future to determine seizing Iran’s international assets wherever it can purportedly for compensation.
Iran’s cabinet in December set
compensation at $150,000 for each of the families of the victims.
The country’s military court said on April 10 the “officials who had a role” in the downing of the plane have been issued indictments and will soon appear in court with the families of the victims present.
On Friday, the foreign ministry spokesman said the “politicized” move by the Canadian government will disrupt the international legal regime and hurt all countries, including Canada, and renew the pain of the victims’ families.
“We want the Canadian government to exhibit the behavior of a government that boasts maturity, and behave based on recognized international frameworks instead of pretending to be active in relation to this tragic incident,” he said.