Canadian Court Awards $142 Million to Families of Flight PS752 victims

A Canadian court has awarded over $142 million in compensation to the families of eight passengers aboard Flight PS752 who died when the plane was shot down over Tehran more than three years ago.

The Ontario Superior Court of Justice sided with the families in their lawsuit against Iran, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), holding them responsible for an act of terrorism and the harm and losses the relatives suffered.

In his ruling, Justice David Stinson concluded that the downing of the Ukraine International Airlines aircraft by Iranian forces constituted "terrorist activity" under Canadian law and that the families were eligible for damages. 

The awarded amount includes more than $16 million for each family as punitive damages, along with an additional $1 million for each victim's pain and suffering.

Some families were also awarded between $150,000 and $200,000 for each victim to compensate for the loss of guidance, care and companionship. Those concerned lost siblings, spouses or, in one case, a 22-year-old daughter.

Last year, the same court awarded a combined $107 million to the families of six other victims of the tragedy.

On January 8, 2020, Flight PS752 crashed shortly after taking off from Tehran while en route to Kyiv, killing all 176 people on board. 

After days of official denials, the Iranian authorities admitted that the IRGC mistakenly shot down the jet with two missiles, amid heightened tensions with the United States. 

The victims included 55 Canadian citizens, 30 permanent residents, and others with ties to Canada, as well as individuals from Sweden, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, Afghanistan and Iran. Their ages spanned from one to 74.

In June, Canada, Sweden, Ukraine and the United Kingdom took the Islamic Republic to the International Court of Justice in their bid to hold Tehran accountable for the shootdown.