Legal Proceedings on Ukrainian Place Crash Continue: Iranian Official
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Legal proceedings are underway into the downing of a Ukrainian plane that crashed near Tehran in January last year, Tehran Military Prosecutor Gholam Abbas Torki said.
He said a probe was launched immediately after the incident happened.
“On the night of January 10, 2020, a number of people stationed at the air defense base as well as higher-ups were summoned as defendants. An extensive investigation was conducted and one of the accused was arrested,” he stated.
“During the process of the probe, 5 other people were prosecuted as accused individuals, and were arrested on a legal warrant,” Turki added, according to IFP.
“At the moment, only one defendant is in custody, and the rest have been freed on bail,” the prosecutor noted.
“The incident was simulated with the presence of 40 experts by conducting two flights and observing all the features of the downed flight,” he said.
“Hypotheses such as a possible cyber attack, the hacking of the air defense system and disruption in the plane’s systems were put forward, but they were rejected based on conclusive evidence,” he said.
A Kiev-bound UIA Boeing 737 crashed shortly after taking off from Tehran on January 8, 2020, killing all 176 people on board, mostly Iranian and Canadian citizens.
Iran said the plane was hit by an anti-aircraft missile due to human error.
