Protests planned in Iran to mark third anniversary of plane downing

Iranian opposition groups have called for countrywide demonstrations to mark the third anniversary on Sunday of the downing of a Ukrainian passenger plane by anti-aircraft fire shortly after take-off from Tehran.

To this day, activists and next-of-kin accuse the government in Tehran of a cover-up of the military action, in which all 176 people aboard the plane died. The victims were from Ukraine and Iran, as well as from Canada, Afghanistan, Britain and Sweden.

The final 285-page report on the incident published in 2021 referred to "human error." The government said it was prepared to pay out $150,000 dollars to each victim's family.

Protests were to be held at various locations on Sunday, including universities and metro stations in Tehran. Hamed Esmaeilion, a well-known Iranian activist living in Canada who lost his family in the incident called for international rallies and commemorations.

The call for demonstrations came amid countrywide protests that erupted in mid-September after the death in custody of a young Kurdish woman who had been detained for infringing the strict dress codes.

On Saturday, the Iranian judicial authority announced the execution by hanging of two protesters found guilty of stabbing a security guard to death in Tehran. The men were hanged early on Saturday.

Thus far, four people have been executed after being found guilty of crimes linked to the protests.

According to the latest estimates from the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), more than 500 people have died in the wave of protests, including 70 minors, as well as almost 70 police officers and security officials.

More than 19,000 arrests have been made, HRANA says.