Canada court: Iran should pay families over plane shootdown

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — A tribunal successful Canada has ruled that Iran should wage astir $84 cardinal successful punitive damages to families of six radical with Canadian citizenship oregon residency who were killed successful the Iranian military’s downing of a Ukrainian rider level successful 2020, the Canadian Press reported.

The military’s shootdown of Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752 with 2 surface-to-air missiles killed each 176 radical connected board. Over 100 of the Iranian victims had Canadian citizenship oregon residency, prompting immoderate families of the victims to writer Iran successful Canadian civilian court.

Last year, the Ontario Superior Court ruled that the Iranian military’s downing of the rider level constituted an “act of terrorism,” allowing the families to bypass Iran’s ineligible immunity and question compensation for their losses. Foreign nations are ordinarily immune from suits successful Canadian courts.

In a determination made nationalist connected Monday, Justice Edward Belobaba awarded a full of 107 cardinal Canadian dollars — $7 cardinal Canadian dollars successful compensatory damages connected apical of $100 cardinal Canadian dollars successful punitive damages, positive interest, to families that launched the suit successful Ontario, the Canadian Press reported.

“This tribunal good understands that harm awards are a mediocre substitute for the lives that were lost,” Belobaba said successful the ruling, dated Dec. 31.

It remains unclear however the families would really cod the damages from Iran. But the ruling carries symbolic value for families who person complained astir the deficiency of transparency and accountability successful Iran’s probe of its ain subject and their inability to question justness successful Iran.

The Canadian Press cited a connection from families’ lawyers that hailed the court’s determination arsenic “unprecedented successful Canadian law.”

The clang happened successful aboriginal January 2020 arsenic Washington and Tehran teetered connected the precipice of war. Just hours earlier the shootdown, Iran had fired ballistic missiles astatine American bases successful Iraq successful retaliation for the U.S. drone onslaught that killed apical Iranian wide Qassem Soleimani successful Baghdad.

After days of denial, Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard publically apologized for the downing and blamed it connected a an aerial defence relation who authorities said mistook the Boeing 737-800 for an American cruise missile.

This communicative has been corrected to amusement that the magnitude awarded is 107 cardinal Canadian dollars, not U.S. dollars.