Roughly 200 people gathered in front of McGill University in Montreal Sunday to mark the third anniversary of flight PS752's destruction and protest the Iranian regime.
On Jan. 8, 2020, 176 people were killed after the Iranian military shot down a Ukraine International Airlines plane. The plane, bound for Ukraine, crashed shortly after taking off from Tehran airport.
According to Nastaran Razmjoo, a protester who lost a friend in the tragedy, the authorities have not done enough for the victims' families, who continue to demand justice.
"It has been three years since the destruction of flight PS752 by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) has not taken any action in all these years," said Razmjoo. "It is important to mention that Farhad Parvaresh, Iran's representative to the organization, is still working there, and he should be removed. He is linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards."
The protesters marched in the freezing cold to the building that houses the ICAO, located in downtown Montreal.
"The families are angry. They are saying that what the Canadian government has done is not enough," said Razmjoo. "We are asking the Aviation Organization to act because silence is violence. Families have lost their children and friends. Everyone has lost someone on this flight. It's important that they hear our voice."
The rally in Montreal was one of 12 to occur in major Canadian cities Sunday.
Sunday's biggest event began at 11:00 a.m. in Toronto and was joined by Premier Justin Trudeau and several federal ministers.
On Dec. 28, Canada joined other countries, including the United Kingdom, Sweden and Ukraine, in initiating the process of submitting the flight PS752 case to the International Court of Justice. The purpose of this procedure is to force Iran to compensate the families of the victims.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Jan. 8, 2023.
