Iran prosecutor indicts 10 for shooting down Ukraine airliner

Tehran’s military prosecutor brings charges over the shooting down of Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 in which 176 people died

Mourners attend a vigil at the University of Toronto for the victims of a Ukrainian passenger jet which crashed in Iran. Reuters

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy lays flowers to commemorate victims of the Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737-800 plane crash, at a memorial in Boryspil International airport outside Kiev. Reuters

A candlelight vigil held at the Edmonton Legislature building in memory of the victims of a Ukrainian passenger plane that crashed in Iran. Reuters

A woman mourns outside the Alberta Legislature Building in Edmonton, Alberta, during a vigil for those killed after a Ukrainian passenger jet crashed. AP

Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau attends a news conference about flight PS752 from Tehran to Kiev that crashed shortly after takeoff, in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Reuters

A candle is placed on a table bearing photos of some of the victims of a Ukraine International Airlines passenger flight that crashed after takeoff near Tehran, Iran. AP

Mourners place candles and photographs outside the Alberta Legislature Building in Edmonton, Alberta during a vigil for those killed after a Ukrainian passenger jet crashed. AP

Victims of the Ukraine crash in Iran, University of Alberta professors Mojgan Daneshmand and Pedram Mousavi, pose in an undated family photo in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Reuters

A victim of the Ukraine International Airlines crash in Iran, Dr Parisa Eghbalian poses with her husband Dr Hamed Esmaeilion at their dentistry practice in Aurora, Ontario, Canada. Reuters

A man places flowers at a memorial for the victims of the Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737-800 crash in the Iranian capital Tehran, at the Boryspil airport outside Kiev. AFP

Photographs of student victims of a Ukrainian passenger jet which crashed in Iran are seen during a vigil at University of Toronto. Reuters

Victims of the Ukraine International Airlines crash in Iran, Negar Borghei and Alvand Sadeghi pose in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Reuters

Attendees wipe away tears during a memorial service at Western University in London, Ontario on January 8, 2020 for the four graduate students who were killed in a plane crash in Iran. AFP

Members of Toronto's Iranian community attend a vigil in Toronto to mourn victims of Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752 that crashed after takeoff near Tehran, Iran. AP

Flowers and candles are placed in front of the portraits of the flight crew members of the Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737-800 plane that crashed in Iran, at a memorial at the Boryspil International airport outside Kiev. Reuters

Tehran’s military prosecutor has indicted 10 officials implicated in last year's shooting down of a Ukrainian passenger jet that killed all 176 on board, Iranian media reported.

Military Prosecutor Gholamabbas Torki confirmed that charges on Tuesday as he handed over to his replacement, Nasser Seraj.

The semi-official Isna news agency and the Iranian judiciary’s Mizan media network both reported the remarks but did not elaborate.

Iran, in the face of mounting evidence, eventually acknowledged that its forces mistakenly shot down the Ukrainian civilian jet with two surface-to-air missiles in January last year.

In preliminary reports on the disaster, the Iranian authorities blamed an air-defence operator whom they said mistook the Boeing 737-800 for an American cruise missile.

The incident happened the same day that Iran launched a ballistic missile attack on US troops in Iraq in retaliation for an American drone strike that killed Iranian commander, Qassem Suleimani.

In December last year, before the anniversary of the crash, President Hassan Rouhani's Cabinet said that Iran would pay $150,000 in compensation to the families of each of the 176 victims.

News of the compensation plan came days after the final report of the investigation into the incident.

Iran’s Civil Aviation Organisation blamed a misaligned radar and an error by an air-defence operator.

The Ukrainian and Canadian authorities questioned the veracity of the report, even suggesting that the shooting down of the jetliner may have been intentional.

Iran refused to send the planes' black boxes to France to be analysed. Instead, officials said they would buy the equipment to do so in Tehran.

After international pressure, Iran handed the recorders over to French investigators in July last year.