© AFP
Relatives of the victims of the Ukraine International Airlines plane crash over Iran in early 2020 are entitled to 107 million Canadian dollars (more than 74 million euros). This was ruled by a Canadian court. Canada’s Ontario state court ruled in May to shoot down the plane in an act of terrorism, clearing the way for compensation.
GVsource: Belgian
The plane was shot down shortly after leaving Tehran on January 8, 2020 by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, who later blamed problems with radar and human error. All 176 people on board were killed, including 55 Canadians and 35 people living in Canada.
Relatives of the six victims who said the missile attack was in retaliation for top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani, who was recently liquidated by the United States, demanded $1.5 billion in compensation from Iran. The judge eventually decided to award them damages totaling C$107 million.
Iran had previously admitted to making a mistake during the tensions. But Tehran has rejected steps to provide compensation. She believes that the legal process should take place in Iran.
According to Canadian public broadcaster CBC, it is not yet clear how the money from Iran will get to the victim. Lawyers now want to confiscate Iranian assets in Canada and elsewhere. According to one of the lawyers, Iran owns oil tankers in several countries and his team will confiscate everything possible to give the families the money they deserve.
Canada, Ukraine, Sweden and the United Kingdom, all countries whose residents have lost their lives, have threatened legal action if the Iranian government does not provide an acceptable response by January 5.
Iran did not defend itself in court, according to CBC. The State Department called Mayo’s verdict – which described the incident as an act of terrorism – as shameful and said the court had no legitimate evidence.
