Last week, on 14 September 2022, an Article 15 Communication was submitted to the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court on behalf of the Association of Families of Flight PS752 Victims – which represents the families of almost 140 of the 167 victims who died when the civilian aircraft was shot down on 8 January 2020 by at least two missiles launched by the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Haydee Dijkstal of 33 Bedford Row Chambers, and Gissou Nia of the Atlantic Council, were instructed as counsel by the Association. Ms Dijkstal and Ms Nia made the submission to the ICC Office of the Prosecutor on behalf of the Association to raise the case and the crimes committed on board the Ukrainian aircraft before the ICC with a view to its inclusion in the on-going Ukraine investigation.
The request was submitted in accordance with Article 15 of the Rome Statute, alleging that perpetrators from the Islamic Republic of Iran and its Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps have committed certain war crimes and crimes against humanity against the passengers and crew of flight PS752 and their surviving family members. The crimes include the war crimes of wilful killing, intentionally directing attacks against the civilian population or civilian objects, outrages upon personal dignity and pillage, as well as the crimes against humanity of murder and ‘other inhumane acts’. The request includes the evidence of victims directly impacted by the shootdown of flight PS752 and the actions of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps preceding and following the shootdown.
Although Iran is not a State Party to the ICC’s Rome Statute, jurisdiction for the OTP to consider the request and examine the alleged crimes is applicable because flight PS752 is an aircraft registered to Ukraine, which has accepted the Court’s jurisdiction over crimes committed on its territory since 21 November 2013. The Court has jurisdiction over crimes committed on board an aircraft registered to a State that has accepted its jurisdiction, and the OTP has clarified that this includes situations in which an attack is launched from a non-State party onto the territory of a State with jurisdiction before the ICC.
Media coverage of the submission includes: