Flight 752: UK, Canada, Sweden and Ukraine launch case against Iran over downing of Ukrainian passenger jet

The UK is among a number of countries bringing a case against Iran in the United Nations' highest court - over the downing of a Ukrainian passenger jet in 2022 which killed all 176 passengers and crew.

Sweden, Ukraine and Canada have joined the UK in urging the International Court of Justice to make a ruling that Iran had illegally shot down the Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752 on 8 January 2020. The countries are also asking that the court orders Tehran to apologise and pay compensation to the families of the victims, some of whom were nationals and residents of the countries seeking a ruling.

Other killed included residents and nationals of Afghanistan and Iran. The ages of those killed ranged from one to 74 years old.

The legal action was filed after Iran did not respond to a request for arbitration in 2022. In a joint statement, the countries said: “Today’s legal action reflects our unwavering commitment to achieving transparency, justice and accountability for the families of the victims.”

At the time the plane was shot down, Iran said that its paramilitary Revolutionary Guard was responsible after mistaking the Boeing 737-800 for an American cruise missile. According to Iran's official judiciary news outlet, an air defence commander was imprisoned for 13 for his alleged responsibility for the tragedy.

However, the UK, Canada, Sweden and Ukraine branded the air defence commander's court proceedings as a "sham and opaque trial". The court filing made by the four countries said that Iran “failed to take all practicable measures to prevent the unlawful and intentional commission of an offence” and “failed to conduct an impartial, transparent and fair criminal investigation and prosecution consistent with international law”.

Iran has also been accused of withholding or destroying evidence in the trial, failing to report details to the International Civil Aviation Organisation and placing blame for the downing on other countries and a low level air defence commander. The country itself has also filed a case against Canada over the incident.

The legal action has accused Canada of flouting state immunity, with Iran accusing the country of allowing the relatives of terrorism victims to seek reparations from the Islamic Republic.

What happened to Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752?

On 8 January 2020, the plane took off from Iran's capital Tehran for a scheduled flight to Ukraine's capital, Kyiv. Shortly after taking off at around 6.12am, the plane went down after being allegedly mistaken for American cruise missiles by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

At the time of the incident, political tensions between Iran and the US were high. Five days prior to the downing, the US had assassinated IRGC general Qasem Soleimani in Iraq, with Iran retaliating with the IRGC launching ballistic missiles on US coalition forces.