Over eighteen months after Iran shot down Flight PS752, the families of the Canadian victims plan to take to the streets of Toronto to back their demands for justice.
The Association of Families of Flight PS752 Victims will host the march from Queen's Park to Nathan Phillips Square, where they will rally to demand the federal government hold Iran accountable.
Fifty-seven Canadians were on board the flight shot down as it took off from Tehran, Iran, the night of January 8, 2020. Iran has said it was an accident. Its military was on high alert after targeting American installations in Iraq.
Those who died that night include five students at the University of Windsor and four who attended Western University in London.
The date of the march and rally coincides with the inauguration of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi. He was a member of the Supreme National Council of Iran that decided to keep the airspace open that night.
The families accuse him of "systemically blocking all paths to truth and justice by exonerating top military and government officials" while arresting protesters who spoke out about the tragedy.
"Eighteen months after this horrific event, we have yet to see real pressure on the Iranian regime and an appropriate level of international condemnation for their actions," read a release from the association.
The group is making three demands. It wants the RCMP to launch a domestic criminal investigation to identify the perpetrators and for the International Civil Aviation Organization to condemn the Iranian regime in "the strongest terms form the crimes committed and breaches of ICAO conventions." It also calls on Ottawa to lead negotiations with Iran resulting in prosecution, to appeal through the ICAO and the International Court of Justice.
"We will continue to stand for our demands, and we will continue rallying across the world to seek the truth and justice for our loved ones," continued the release. "Justice is not negotiable."
