Ten Iranian military personnel were sentenced to up to 10 years in prison on Sunday for their role in the downing of a Ukrainian Boeing near Tehran in January 2020.

In particular, the main defendant, the commander of the Tor M-1 air defence system, was sentenced to 10 years in prison, because he ignored the orders of the hierarchy and shot down the aircraft. The remaining nine were sentenced to terms ranging from one to three years in prison, according to Mizan Online.

The commander was the one who launched two missiles against Ukrainian flight PS752 in violation of the orders and instructions he had received, the same source added.

Among them were four air defence system officials, an air base commander and a control station official.

It is noted that the identity of the convicted remains unknown.

It is recalled that, on January 8, 2020, the Iranian Armed Forces shot down the aircraft flying from Tehran to Kyiv. The 176 passengers on board, mostly Iranians and Canadians, but also 11 Ukrainians, of whom 9 crew members, lost their lives in this tragedy.

In November 2021, the judicial authorities announced that the trial of ten soldiers had begun.

On the night of the tragedy, Iran’s air defence forces were on high alert. Tehran had just attacked a base used by the US military in Iraq in retaliation for the death of General Qassem Soleimani, the architect of Iran’s regional strategy, five days earlier in a US strike in Baghdad.

For this reason, the Iranian authorities expected a possible reaction from the US.

Source: CNN Greece

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