A man who lost his wife and young daughter in the PS752 plane disaster denounced Iran’s trial of the suspects accused of responsibility for the crash as a sham.
Hamed Esmaeilion dismissed Tehran’s showcase proceedings, which he said offered no justice for grieving loved ones left behind.
He made the comments in a conversation with Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a British-Iranian woman who spent six years detained in Iran before being released earlier this year. Ms Zahari-Ratcliffe on Wednesday guest edited BBC Radio 4’s Today programme and hosted several guests to speak about freedom in Iran.
All 176 passengers and crew aboard Ukrainian International Flight PS752 died when the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) shot it down shortly after take-off from Iran in January 2020.
Mr Esmaeilion, who is president of the association of the victims’ families fighting for justice, said Iranian authorities had pressured members to accept compensation for their loss but that the majority had refused.
“These days, if you see in Iran they are holding a sham trial,” the widower told Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe. “There is no justice in the Islamic Republic of Iran, there is no accountability,” he added.
Mr Esmaeilion said uncovering the truth about the crash would go a long way to helping the bereaved families heal from the trauma.
“It is not only for PS752,” he said. “I think all the crimes that they have committed in the last 44 years, [for] all those crimes the accused should come to court, in my opinion, and tell the truth and understand what they did to the families of the victims and then they should get the punishment they deserve.”
He said the international community should be responding more robustly to Iran’s crackdown on peaceful protesters.
Since the September death of Mahsa Amini, arrested for allegedly not wearing her hijab properly, there have been mass protests across Iran.
The regime has been accused of using brutal tactics on peaceful demonstrators, shooting some while arresting and torturing others. It has also used the death penalty on people who have publicly called for the downfall of the authorities.
Mr Esmaeilion said Iranian ambassadors should be expelled from countries around the world and groups involved in suppressing freedom of speech in Iran should be designated as terrorist organisations.
He said governments should “do the same thing that they did to the Russian oligarchs” by sanctioning people benefiting from the regime in Tehran. “That would be a very strong message to the Islamic Republic of Iran,” he said. “I don’t know why they hesitate to do this.”
The activist's appeal comes after Labour urged the UK government to impose Magnitsky-style sanctions on those involved in the suppression of protests in Iran. Such measures target those responsible for human rights offences or corruption.
Turning to the Iran nuclear deal, he said he is baffled at how western nations negotiating with Tehran for a revival of the accord can stand by and watch the regime murder its own citizens.
“It is very complicated, I don’t really understand why when they’re killing Iranian people in the streets, in prison, in universities, even in schools, they watch it and they say ‘OK we send warning … but we are waiting for the Islamic Republic of Iran to come to the negotiating table.’
“No. We should put an end to the negotiating table.”
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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U19 World Cup in South Africa
Group A: India, Japan, New Zealand, Sri Lanka
Group B: Australia, England, Nigeria, West Indies
Group C: Bangladesh, Pakistan, Scotland, Zimbabwe
Group D: Afghanistan, Canada, South Africa, UAE
UAE fixtures
Saturday, January 18, v Canada
Wednesday, January 22, v Afghanistan
Saturday, January 25, v South Africa
UAE squad
Aryan Lakra (captain), Vriitya Aravind, Deshan Chethyia, Mohammed Farazuddin, Jonathan Figy, Osama Hassan, Karthik Meiyappan, Rishabh Mukherjee, Ali Naseer, Wasi Shah, Alishan Sharafu, Sanchit Sharma, Kai Smith, Akasha Tahir, Ansh Tandon
At a glance
Fixtures All matches start at 9.30am, at ICC Academy, Dubai. Admission is free
Thursday UAE v Ireland; Saturday UAE v Ireland; Jan 21 UAE v Scotland; Jan 23 UAE v Scotland
UAE squad Rohan Mustafa (c), Ashfaq Ahmed, Ghulam Shabber, Rameez Shahzad, Mohammed Boota, Mohammed Usman, Adnan Mufti, Shaiman Anwar, Ahmed Raza, Imran Haider, Qadeer Ahmed, Mohammed Naveed, Amir Hayat, Zahoor Khan
WOMAN AND CHILD
Director: Saeed Roustaee
Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi
Rating: 4/5
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
FIGHT CARD
Sara El Bakkali v Anisha Kadka (Lightweight, female)
Mohammed Adil Al Debi v Moaz Abdelgawad (Bantamweight)
Amir Boureslan v Mahmoud Zanouny (Welterweight)
Abrorbek Madaminbekov v Mohammed Al Katheeri (Featherweight)
Ibrahem Bilal v Emad Arafa (Super featherweight)
Ahmed Abdolaziz v Imad Essassi (Middleweight)
Milena Martinou v Ilham Bourakkadi (Bantamweight, female)
Noureddine El Agouti v Mohamed Mardi (Welterweight)
Nabil Ouach v Ymad Atrous (Middleweight)
Nouredin Samir v Zainalabid Dadachev (Lightweight)
Marlon Ribeiro v Mehdi Oubahammou (Welterweight)
Brad Stanton v Mohamed El Boukhari (Super welterweight
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Qyubic
Started: October 2023
Founder: Namrata Raina
Based: Dubai
Sector: E-commerce
Current number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Initial investment: Undisclosed
Getting there
The flights
Emirates and Etihad fly to Johannesburg or Cape Town daily. Flights cost from about Dh3,325, with a flying time of 8hours and 15 minutes. From there, fly South African Airlines or Air Namibia to Namibia’s Windhoek Hosea Kutako International Airport, for about Dh850. Flying time is 2 hours.
The stay
Wilderness Little Kulala offers stays from £460 (Dh2,135) per person, per night. It is one of seven Wilderness Safari lodges in Namibia; www.wilderness-safaris.com.
Skeleton Coast Safaris’ four-day adventure involves joining a very small group in a private plane, flying to some of the remotest areas in the world, with each night spent at a different camp. It costs from US$8,335.30 (Dh30,611); www.skeletoncoastsafaris.com
Three ways to boost your credit score
Marwan Lutfi says the core fundamentals that drive better payment behaviour and can improve your credit score are:
1. Make sure you make your payments on time;
2. Limit the number of products you borrow on: the more loans and credit cards you have, the more it will affect your credit score;
3. Don't max out all your debts: how much you maximise those credit facilities will have an impact. If you have five credit cards and utilise 90 per cent of that credit, it will negatively affect your score.
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
