Commander of an Iranian air defense unit has been given a 13-year jail term on Sunday for being the main culprit in the downing of a Ukrainian passenger plane.
The indictment of a military court claims that the defendant, acting on his own responsibility without receiving permission, fired two missiles at the aircraft, which resulted in the killing all the 176 people on board, according to the Iranian news agency (IRNA).
The defendant mistakenly thought the Boeing 737, of Ukraine International Airlines, a hostile target and shot it down just a few minutes after its takeoff from Tehran airport in January 2020.
He was cleared of premeditated murder but found guilty of manslaughter.
Accordingly, the court ordered that he spends 13 years in jail and pays blood money to the families of the victims who are mainly Iranians.
Other personnel of the air defense unit were sentences to prison terms ranging between one year and three years
Source: Kuwait News Agency