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Iran indicts 10 for military shootdown of Ukrainian airliner that killed 176

Wreckage of a downed Ukrainian Boeing 737 is seen about 30 miles south of the airport in Tehran, Iran, on January 8, 2020. The crash, later determined to have been caused by a military missile, killed 176 passengers and crew. File Photo by Morteza Nikoubazi/UPI
Wreckage of a downed Ukrainian Boeing 737 is seen about 30 miles south of the airport in Tehran, Iran, on January 8, 2020. The crash, later determined to have been caused by a military missile, killed 176 passengers and crew. File Photo by Morteza Nikoubazi/UPI | License Photo

April 6 (UPI) -- Prosecutors in Iran indicted nearly a dozen people on Tuesday for the shootdown last year of a Ukrainian passenger plane, which killed almost 200 people on board and drew international criticism.

Iranian military prosecutor Gholamabbas Torki said 10 people connected to the shootdown of Ukrainian International Airlines Flight 752 on Jan. 8, 2020, were indicted and will face "the necessary conclusion" at trial.

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One hundred seventy-six passengers and crew died when the plane crashed shortly after taking off from Imam Khomeini International Airport in Tehran.

It took Iranian authorities three days to admit to it shot down the airliner and said it was caused by "human error." However, until Tuesday, officials never identified anyone as being responsible for the crash.

Ukrainian officials accuse Tehran of trying to waste time, absolve its military of responsibility and skirt any settlements.

A report by Iranian investigators last month blamed an unnamed defense systems operator for firing a Tor-M1 missile that downed the Boeing 737.

Canada, which claimed 57 citizens from the death toll on Flight 752, and Ukraine have blamed Tehran for trying to downplay the crash in the report, saying investigators made "no attempt to answer critical questions about what truly happened" and offered "no hard facts or evidence."

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