Iran court jails 10 troops over 2020 downing of Ukraine jet

A commander received ten years in prison for plane crash that killed 176 on board

A hearing in an Iranian military courtroom for the 2020 shooting down of a Ukrainian plane that killed 176 people, in November 2021 in Tehran. AP

Iran has sentenced 10 members of the armed forces to prison after finding them guilty of involvement in the shooting down of a Ukrainian airliner, the judiciary's Mizan Online website reported on Sunday.

A commander received 10 years in prison and nine others were sentenced to between one and three years, Mizan reported, in the 2020 incident which led to the deaths of all 176 people on board.

Most were Iranians and Canadians, including many dual nationals.

Iranian forces shot down Ukraine International Airlines flight PS752 shortly after its take-off from Tehran on January 8 that year.

Three days later, the Iranian armed forces admitted to downing the Kyiv-bound plane “by mistake”.

Tensions between Iran and the US were soaring at the time of the incident.

Iranian air defences were on high alert for a US counterattack after Tehran fired missiles at a military base in Iraq that was used by American forces.

Ukraine lost 11 citizens in the disaster.

Iran's judiciary had said in November 2021 that a trial had opened in Tehran for 10 military members in connection with the jet's fate.