A court in Iran has sentenced 10 military personnel to prison terms ranging from 1 to 13 years for their involvement in the downing of a Ukrainian airliner in January 2020, which killed its 176 occupants.
The commander who ordered the downing of the Ukraine International Airlines was sentenced to three years in prison for the killing of the passengers and an additional 10 years for “ignoring safety protocols,” the Judiciary’s Mizan agency reported.
Shot down out of “ignorance” and “mistake”
The court ruled that the commander shot down the plane out of “ignorance” and by “mistake”, mistaking the Ukrainian flight for a “hostile” element.
The serviceman, the main defendant in the case and whose identity has not been disclosed, will serve 10 years in prison, the higher of the two sentences, and must also pay a fine to the relatives of the victims.
Nine other Air Force personnel were sentenced to prison terms ranging from one to three years for the downing of the flight.
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Mizan said the court decision was reached after 20 hearings and “detailed investigations” carried out over three years.
“The study of this case has been one of the most important, sensitive and complex judicial processes of recent years in the country,” Mizan said.
Those convicted can appeal the sentences in 20 days.
Iran will also pay $150,000 to each family member of the victims, according to Mizan, who did not explain how or when this payment will be made.
The Ukrainian International Airlines Boeing 737 was shot down with two missiles shortly after takeoff from Tehran airport on the morning of January 8, 2020 bound for Kiev.
On the flight were citizens of Iran, Ukraine, Canada, Sweden, Afghanistan, Germany and the United Kingdom.
Tehran attributed the downing to “an error” by one of the operators of the Revolutionary Guard’s air defense systems.
Iran alleged that its Armed Forces were on alert that day because they expected retaliation from the United States for having bombed hours earlier a military base in Iraq with U.S. troops, an attack which in turn was in revenge for the assassination of Iranian General Qasem Soleimaní.
With information from EFE
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