Iranian authorities say the person who filmed a video proving the country shot down a commercial plane has been arrested.
The person, who has not been identified, was arrested and will face national security charges, according to BBC. Iran initially said the crash was because of a mechanical issue but later admitted that it mistakenly shot down the Ukrainian airliner, killing all 176 people on board.
President Hassan Rouhani, 71, announced the arrests of several other people related to the plane crash on Tuesday.
“This will not be a regular and usual case. The whole world will be watching this court,” he said in a speech. “It’s not only the person who pulled the trigger, but also others who are responsible.”
Although the country’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed that among those arrested was a person who filmed the missile attack, the London-based journalist who first released one of the videos of the shootdown said his source was safe and the arrest could be a case of mistaken identity.
I’m asking @JustinTrudeau and @CanadaFP to step into this situation and ask Iranian officials to release the WRONG folks they have in custody. My source who is a HERO is safe. also why they need to arrest this person?! #PS752 https://t.co/mo3Supjmow
— 🤖Nariman (@NarimanGharib) January 14, 2020
Shahin Gobadi, a spokesman for the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran, told the Washington Examiner that the Iranian regime is working to “conceal the facts around this disaster.”
“I do not have specific details regarding the regime’s claim, but it is abundantly clear that the clerical regime doesn’t care about people’s lives at all,” he said.
“What matters the most as far as the regime is concerned is to dampen or confront the rage and repugnance of millions of Iranian over the criminal downing of the Ukrainian airliners and the killing of 176 innocent passengers,” said Gobadi, who speaks for the most prominent opposition group to the regime.
The victims of Wednesday’s crash included 82 Iranians, 63 Canadians, 11 Ukrainians, 10 Swedes, four Afghans, three Germans, and three British nationals. Protests have broken out across Iran over the deaths, with demonstrators calling for Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to resign.
Iranian judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Esmaili said that about 30 people have been detained for “taking part in illegal gatherings.” President Trump has praised the protesters and said the United States supports their efforts.
The downing of the jet came just after the IRGC fired more than a dozen short-range ballistic missiles at bases in Iraq housing American forces.
