Two years on: Families of downed flight PS752 victims seek justice

Javad Soleimani is stuck on Jan.8, 2020, when his wife Elnaz Nabiyi boarded Ukrainian Airlines Flight PS 752 to leave Tehran.

Nabiyi and 175 other people on board that flight, including another 12 who called Edmonton home, would never make it to their loved ones after Iranian forces shot down their plane.

"Two years ago, Elnaz is gone, and I'm here alone in Edmonton," Soleimani said, adding that the second anniversary has been even more difficult.

"The first year, I was in the denial stage of grieving, but now I'm kind of like back and forth between acceptance and denial," he added.

Amir Ghahari knew Mojgan Daneshmand and Pedram Mousavi, two University of Alberta professors.

Ghahari coached soccer for their nine-year-old daughter Dorina. On the morning of the crash, he saw a photo of the family on Instagram.

"I just burst into tears in my own bed," he told CTV News Edmonton. "That's how I knew. At first glance. And my wife was sleeping beside me. And the next thing (I thought) was how am I going to tell her."

Family and friends of those killed are still fighting 730 days later to get answers into what happened, and justice is served by those responsible.

"This is for all the world," Soleimani said. "Because as long as a government like Iran can easily shoot down a civilian airliner over an international airport, the world is not safe.

"We don't know the truth," he added.

"I want to know the truth and have justice served for those who are responsible for this," Ghahari said. "I think that's my healing, to make that happen.

"The scars are deep down, but I am motivated more than ever to create a legacy for all those who were lost," he added.

Despite the pandemic, loved ones created the Association of Families of Flight PS 752 Victims as an advocacy group to push for answers and action.

"We are all like family," Soleimani said. "We all understand our pain and grief.

"We aren't giving up," he added. "We need actions."

After Iran ignored a deadline on Wednesday to negotiate compensation for the victims' loved ones, Canada, Britain, Sweden, and Ukraine, whose citizens were among the victims along with those from Afghanistan, said they had abandoned efforts to talk to Tehran about reparations and would instead use international law to settle the matter.

For Soleimani, the government should have never tried to negotiate with the Iranian regime and instead refer the matter to the International Court of Justice and the International Civil Aviation Organization.

"The Iranian government is not a normal government," he said. "Negotiations with them is just a waste of time."

Dozens of Edmontonians attended a candlelight vigil on Saturday evening to remember the innocent victims.

Amir Ghahari, one of the organizers, said he wanted to show solidarity with the families.

"We are not going to forget," Akvarbi said. "We are not going to stop asking for justice."

The High Level Bridge will be lit red, white, and green Saturday evening to honour those killed in the downing.

According to Iran's Foreign Ministry, it is ready for bilateral negotiations, "despite certain countries' illegal actions and attempts to exploit this tragic event."

During a virtual memorial hosted by the Association of Families of Flight PS 752 Victims, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the flight was shot down due to "recklessness" and a "disregard for human life" by Iranian officials.

"Early January is usually a time when we look forward to the year ahead," Trudeau said. For the loved ones of flight PS 752 victims, January 8. They have pain, sorrow, grief on this day.

"Your fellow Canadians are thinking of you, and they want you to know that even in the darkness of your loneliness, your grief, your despair, in your anger you are never alone as we continue to stand with you as Canadians as a country."

The prime minister said Canada will work with the international coordination group and "not rest until Iran is held accountable."

With files from CTV News.ca's Michael Lee and The Canadian Press