National security watchdog probing RCMP's decision not to probe Flight PS752, lawyer says
Victims' families have called for a criminal investigation of the aircraft's destruction since 2020
Relatives of some of those killed when Flight PS752 was shot down over Iran have filed complaints against former RCMP commissioner Brenda Lucki over her decision not to launch a criminal investigation into the deadly event.
Now, a national security watchdog is expected to determine if Lucki and her police force acted appropriately, according to the complainants' lawyer.
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps fired a pair of surface-to-air missiles at Flight PS752 after takeoff in Tehran in 2020, killing everyone onboard. Most of the passengers were en route to Canada. Fifty five Canadian citizens and 30 permanent residents died in the event.
While the RCMP called the aircraft's destruction a "national tragedy," Lucki told the victims' families she decided Ukraine would be best suited to lead a criminal investigation because it was a Ukrainian plane that was destroyed.
Javad Soleimani, whose wife Elnaz Nabiyi died on the flight, filed a complaint in June with the Civilian Review and Complaints Commission for the RCMP, the watchdog that handles complaints about the national police service. He called Lucki's reasoning unreasonable, flawed and discriminatory.
"Many families in our conversations say that if it was just one white Canadian in the downing of Flight PS752...the RCMP reaction would be completely different," he said.
Three other individuals who lost loved ones on the flight filed a similar complaint jointly in 2021. Their lawyer said the National Security and Intelligence Review Agency (NSIRA), an independent government agency that reviews national security and intelligence activities, has been investigating that complaint and is expected to render a decision soon.
Lucki wrote a letter to victims' families in 2021 saying it was "the RCMP that decided Ukraine was the most competent authority to lead a criminal investigation into the downing."
"This is because Ukraine had greater rights to access the crash site, to the wreckage, and to witnesses and victims in other countries," Lucki wrote.
But Ram Joubin, the lawyer representing all the complainants, said Lucki's argument has been "refuted" by Ukraine.
"Ukraine's prosecution office's website itself says that's not true," Joubin told CBC News.
He pointed to a statement from Ukraine's prosecutor general's office that said its investigation is being carried out "without having access to the remnants of the plane wreckage and without the possibility of questioning the witnesses and others persons in the case in the territory of Iran."
Through the complaint process, Joubin said, the RCMP cited other jurisdictional reasons for not investigating. He said they include the fact that Canada doesn't have diplomatic relations with Iran and can't arrest and return suspects to Canada to face charges. He said the RCMP also claimed it would struggle to get information out of Tehran because of its human rights record.
But the complainants said the crimes committed against their loved ones — including terrorism and conspiracy to commit murder — all fall under the RCMP's jurisdiction.
"The Ukrainian government does not have jurisdiction to pursue justice for the 55 Canadian nationals," says the 2021 complaint filed by Shahin Moghaddam, Mehrzad Zarei and Parisa Abbaszadeh.
"The RCMP Commissioner has compromised the integrity of the Criminal Code, opening it to opportunism and abuse."
Ukraine asked Canada to launch a joint investigation but the RCMP told CBC News there is "no basis in Canadian law" to support such a joint investigation with Ukraine. Instead, the Mounties helped collect and preserve evidence related to Ukraine's investigation, the RCMP said.
Soleimani said that evidence-sharing process has been painfully slow. He said that in one case, it took the RCMP nine months to pass on evidence he gave Mounties to Ukrainian investigators.
He said the Ukrainian team told him at one point to cut the RCMP out of the loop and come to them directly with information.
The RCMP said in a media statement that it has always sought to help families communicate with Ukrainian officials and has fulfilled all of Ukrainian officials' requests.
Soleimani said that since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, he's barely heard from Ukrainian investigators. He said he believes their priorities have shifted to investigating alleged war crimes committed by Moscow and Canada needs to reconsider launching its own probe.
"Unfortunately the war happened between Ukraine and Russia and everything stopped," he said. "There is no hope that in the near future the Ukraine investigation is going to be reactivated. And RCMP should open a criminal case."
Soleimani said that while the RCMP was right to launch an investigation into alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by Russia in Ukraine, approving that probe while refusing to investigate Flight PS752 added salt to the wound.
"They failed us," he said. "I lost my confidence and trust in the RCMP."
The RCMP said it's ready to provide further assistance to Ukrainian investigators once they're "able to continue [their] investigative efforts." The police force also said it's committed to holding a meeting between the RCMP, Ukrainian investigators and the families "as soon as practicable."
Iran has maintained the IRGC "unintentionally" shot down the plane and blames human error.
Instead of a criminal probe, the Canadian government enlisted a former CSIS deputy director to lead a team that examined all the evidence Canada had at that time.
That former CSIS official issued a report in 2021 that said while Canada didn't have any evidence the catastrophe was "premeditated," it could demonstrate that a series of "acts and omissions by Iranian civil and military authorities caused a dangerous situation where previously identified risks were underestimated and not taken seriously."
Soleimani said that since 2021, he's gathered new evidence, witness testimony and records from inside Iran that could help a criminal investigation in Canada. His complaint and the 2021 complaint call on NSIRA to order the RCMP to open a criminal probe.
NSIRA said that its investigations are conducted in private and it can't discuss them. If a complaint falls within its mandate, interviews are conducted and a final report is issued to those involved containing findings and recommendations.
The RCMP said it welcomes the external investigation.
The police force also said it has provided support to victims' families and, while it isn't investigating Flight PS752, it did open a criminal investigation into complaints of harassment and intimidation against the family members of victims within Canada. The RCMP would not say if it ever laid any charges as a result of that investigation.
Canada and multiple other countries have taken the Flight PS752 case to the International Court of Justice in an attempt to hold Iran legally accountable.
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