Amir Ali Hajizadeh
- Membership in IRGC operational units (0000)
- Commander of the IRGC Air Defence (0000)
- Commander of the IRGC Aerospace Force (0000 - present)
- Human Rights Violation: Shooting down the Ukrainian Airline Place (Flight PS752) (8 Jan 2020) read more
- Institution
- The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Aerospace Force
- Location
- Tehran
- Rights Violated
- Right to a fair trial, Right to life
- Description
Amir Ali Hajizadeh, as commander of the Revolutionary Guards Aerospace Force, is responsible for shooting down the Ukrainian Airlines Flight 752, killing all 176 passengers on board. He is also responsible for concealing and preventing the publication of details of this tragedy and preventing independent investigations, effective and immediate compensation and punishment of the perpetrators.
On 8 January, 2020, a Ukrainian Airline plane, flight number PS 752, was shot down by two missiles fired from the Revolutionary Guards missile system near Tehran, killing all 176 passengers and crew. Most of the passengers on the plane were Iranian, and other passengers and crew were citizens of Canada, Ukraine, Britain and Afghanistan. Iran immediately declared the cause of the crash a technical defect and denied the experts' hypothesis that the plane was hit by missiles. On the same day, Abolfazl Shekarchi, a spokesman for the Iranian General Staff of Armed Forces, called the claim a "mere lie" and stressed that "this issue is being pursued by the hypocritical line in favor of the Americans and is another conspiracy in the field of psychological warfare."
Officials in the Islamic Republic denied shooting down the flight PS752 by their military forces until three days later. Eventually, when a number of world leaders, including the Prime Minister of Canada and the US Secretary of State, spoke of the real possibility of the plane being shot down by a missile system, on 11 January, 2020, Hajizadeh admitted in a press conference that a Ukrainian plane shot down by missiles fired by the forces under his command. He immediately blamed the United States for the tragedy "These are the costs of America's mischief and inflammation in the region," he said.
Following the confirmation of the IRGC shooting down flight PS752, on 13 December, 2020, rallies were held to protest the downing of the Ukrainian plane by the Revolutionary Guards. Following a protest rally in front of the Revolutionary Guards headquarters in Amol, 14 people were arrested. The Amol Revolutionary Court sentenced five of them to a total of 30 months in prison. In total, at least 13 people were sentenced to prison in Iran for these protests.
The Revolutionary Guards have also systematically threatened, summoned, and physically and mentally tortured the victims' families in order to dissuade them from talking to the media and pursuing lawsuits. In the latest wave of pressure on families, sources close to the victims' families told the media that Revolutionary Guards members have been threatening the families stating "some members of these families received death threats during repeated interrogations in IRGC safe houses. The interrogator told them they will send them to the other world as well if they don’t cooperate”.
The members of the IRGC also threatened the families with "[lethal] injection", "getting killed and released on the outskirts of the city", "sexual abuse of their spouses / daughters", and dismissal from their jobs.
- Sources
Details of the IRGC operation in Ain al-Assad, Tabnak, 10 December, 2017
New Audio File Released; President of Ukraine: Iranian officials Were Aware of the firing of Missiles, Radio Farda, 3 February, 2020
Aviation experts: The cause of the crash of the Ukrainian plane could be a missile, Persian Independent, 10 December, 2017
Trudeau says evidence indicates Iranian missile brought down Ukrainian flight, CBC, 10 January 2020
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/champagne-iran-plane-crash-1.5420398
US believes Iran 'likely' shot down Ukrainian airliner: Pompeo, ABC News, 10 January 2020
Shekarchi: Our revenge is not limited to one slap, Fars News, 9 December, 2017
Iran: Ukrainian plane was targeted as result of human error, BBC Farsi, 12 December, 2017
https://www.bbc.com/persian/iran-51073829
Protest rallies in several Iranian cities; Firearms and tear gas fired in Tehran, Radio Farda, 12 December, 2017
https://www.radiofarda.com/a/30371917.html
[Video] Protests Against Khamenei in Iran After the Deadly Tragedy Caused by the Revolutionary Guards, Radio France, 12 December, 2017
30-month Prison Sentence for Protesters against Downing of the Ukrainian Plane by the IRGC, Radio Farda, 26 May, 2016
https://www.radiofarda.com/a/30574508.html
Human Rights Watch Condemns Prison sentence for Protesters Downing of the Ukrainian Plane in Iran, BBC Persian, 10 May, 2016
https://www.bbc.com/persian/iran-52592501
Exclusive: The Revolutionary Guards have tortured and threatened to rape and kill the families of the victims of the Ukrainian flight, Iran International, 28 November, 2016
- Human Rights Violation: Shooting down the Ukrainian Airline Place (Flight PS752) (8 Jan 2020) read more
On 24 June 2019, the U.S. Treasury Department put Hajizadeh on its list of sanctions for his role in IRGC’s provocative missile program. According to this decision, Hajizadeh’s assets in the US or in control of US banks and companies will be frozen and he will be banned from entering the United States.