National security watchdog probing RCMP's decision not to probe Flight PS752, lawyer says

Relatives of some of those killed when Flight PS752 was shot down over Iran have filed complaints against formerRCMPcommissioner Brenda Lucki over her decision notto launch a criminal investigation into the deadly event.

Now, a national security watchdog is expected to determine if Luckiand 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 theRCMP called the aircraft's destructiona "national tragedy,"Lucki told the victims' families shedecided Ukraine would be best suited tolead a criminal investigationbecause it was a Ukrainian plane that was destroyed.

Javad Soleimani, whose wife Elnaz Nabiyi died on the flight, filed a complaint inJune 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, flawedand 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 flightfiled a similar complaint jointly in 2021. Their lawyer said theNational Security and Intelligence Review Agency (NSIRA),an independent government agency that reviewsnational 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 RamJoubin, the lawyer representing all the complainants, saidLucki'sargument has been "refuted" by Ukraine.

"Ukraine's prosecution office's websiteitself says that's not true," Joubin told CBC News.

He pointed toastatement from Ukraine's prosecutor general's officethat 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 RCMPcitedother jurisdictional reasonsfor not investigating. He said they include the fact that Canada doesn't have diplomatic relations with Iran and can't arrest and returnsuspects to Canadato face charges. He said the RCMP also claimed it would struggle to get information out ofTehran 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 investigationbut the RCMPtold CBC News there is "no basis in Canadian law" to support sucha joint investigation with Ukraine. Instead, the Mounties helped collect and preserve evidencerelated to Ukraine's investigation, the RCMP said.

Soleimani said thatevidence-sharing process has been painfully slow. He said that in one case, it took the RCMP nine months to pass onevidencehe gave Mounties toUkrainian investigators.

He said the Ukrainian team told him at one point tocutthe RCMPout of the loop and come to them directly with information.

WATCH: Terrorist designation for IRGC a huge step forward for victims' families, says spokesperson

IRGC terrorist designation a huge step forward: spokesperson for Flight PS752 families

4 months ago

Duration 12:22

After years of pressure following the 2020 destruction of Flight PS752 over Tehran, the federal government has announced that it will list Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization. CBC's Ashley Burke explains the designation. Then, Kourosh Doustshenas, a spokesperson for an association representing the families of the flight victims, joins Power & Politics to discuss how he feels about the designation and the other actions Canada should take on the issue.

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 MoscowandCanada 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 futurethe Ukraine investigation is going to be reactivated. And RCMP should open a criminal case."

Soleimani saidthat while the RCMP was right to launchan investigation into alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by Russia in Ukraine,approving that probe while refusing to investigateFlight PS752added 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 blameshuman 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 areport in 2021 that said while Canada didn't have any evidence the catastrophe was "premeditated,"it coulddemonstrate 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 testimonyand records from inside Iran that could help a criminal investigation in Canada. His complaint and the 2021 complaint callon NSIRA to order the RCMP to open a criminal probe.

NSIRA said that its investigations are conducted in private andit can'tdiscuss them. If a complaint falls within its mandate, interviews areconductedand a final report is issued to those involved containing findings andrecommendations.

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 withinCanada. The RCMP would not say if itever laid any charges as a result of that investigation.

Canada and multiple other countries have taken the Flight PS752 case to theInternational Court of Justice in an attempt tohold Iran legally accountable.