Ukraine investigating downing of passenger jet as case of "willful killing"
Ukraine is now investigating the downing of a Ukraine International Airlines passenger jet in Tehran by the Iranian armed forces on Wednesday as a possible case of “willful killing and aircraft destruction,” the Ukrainian General Prosecutor’s office said today in a statement.
“Based on the results of processing the data obtained as a result of cooperation with international partners and also from the Ukrainian law enforcement and experts at the site of the tragedy…the General Prosecutor's Office has decided to change the qualification of the criminal offense,” the statement said.
“The investigation will continue under the articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, which provide for the liability for the willful killing of two or more people and the destruction of the aircraft,” the statement added.
More context: The change in the qualification of the investigation – which had initially been treated as a "violation of traffic safety rules" and "operation of air transport resulting in death" case – follows Iran’s admission on Saturday that it mistakenly downed the flight, killing 176 people on board.
According to the General Prosecutor’s Office, the Central Investigating Department of the Security Service of Ukraine has been “instructed to conduct a pre-trial investigation” into the case.
No comments:
Post a Comment