TORONTO: Canadian lawyers, who previously successfully sued Iran, are seeking class action status in a lawsuit on behalf of victims aboard a Ukrainian plane shot down over Tehran last month, looking for at least $1.1 billion in compensation.
The suit names Iran, its supreme leader, the elite Revolutionary Guards and others as defendants.
Iran admitted its missiles downed the Ukrainian airliner by mistake on Jan. 8, killing all 176 people aboard, including 57 Canadians.
The lead plaintiff in the case is anonymous, preliminarily identified as John Doe, and described as immediate family to a victim identified as Jack Doe.
The filing says John Doe’s identity must be protected because of the risk that “his Iranian family would be put at risk of harm or death by the Iranian regime.”
The suit alleges that the downing of the plane was “an intentional and deliberate act of terrorism.”
Iranian authorities did not immediately comment on Friday, when government offices are closed.
Jonah Arnold is co-lead counsel with his father Mark Arnold, who has represented clients in several suits against Iran, including a 2017 appeal decision that led to seizure of some Iranian assets in Canada.
The 2017 ruling was in a case brought by US victims of bombings, killings and kidnappings that US courts ruled Iran was responsible for. But the plaintiffs could not claim the $1.7 billion in judgments in the United States.
It was not clear whether Iran has any assets remaining in Canada. Arnold said the case would likely unfold over years, and any judgment could be renewed and enforced in the future.
“Providing a voice for the families and seeking compensation for them in the courts is the primary objective,” Jonah Arnold said. “When we get there, and we need to look for those assets, that’s what we’ll do.”
Besides Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, others named in the lawsuit are top commanders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, including the head of the unit responsible for shooting down the plane, Amirali Hajjizadeh.
Foreign states are not typically within the jurisdiction of Canadian courts. A 2012 Canadian law limited that immunity for countries Ottawa lists as “foreign state supporters of terrorism,” currently Iran and Syria.
The suit was filed Jan. 24 in Toronto, but it is not clear whether it has been served on defendants in Iran.
Arnold said the Canadian government is required to ensure that happens, and that he has received confirmation that the suit is “en route.”
Global Affairs Canada did not immediately comment.
The case is Doe v Islamic Republic of Iran et al, Ontario Superior Court of Justice, No. CV-20-635078.
Canadian lawyers file lawsuit against Iran over victims of downed Ukrainian plane
https://arab.news/mt8bx
Canadian lawyers file lawsuit against Iran over victims of downed Ukrainian plane
- The suit names Iran, its supreme leader, the elite Revolutionary Guards and others as defendants
- The lead plaintiff in the case is anonymous, preliminarily identified as John Doe
Morocco begins tendering process to expand Casablanca airport
The new terminal will serve as an international hub
RABAT: Morocco issued on Wednesday two expressions of interest to identify bidders for its plan to build a new terminal that will increase capacity at its largest airport in Casablanca by 20 million passengers.
Casablanca airport’s expansion is part of a push to double Morocco’s overall airport capacity to 78 million to meet increasing traffic in the run-up to the soccer World Cup, which Morocco will co-host with Spain and Portugal.
The terminal is expected to be ready in 2029 at a cost of $1.6 billion, airports authority ONDA said in a statement.
The new terminal will serve as an international hub and will be served by a high-speed train network connecting the airport to the key cities of Casablanca, Rabat and Marrakech.
Morocco reported a record 17.4 million visitors last year, up 20 percent from 2023, and it expects to attract 26 million tourists in 2030.
UN experts demand action to avert ‘annihilation’ of Palestinians in Gaza
- UN experts said Israel’s actions in Gaza 'follow alarming, documented patterns of genocidal conduct'
GENEVA: Countries are at a moral crossroads over the conflict in Gaza, UN experts warned Wednesday, urging action to halt the violence and avoid “the annihilation of the Palestinian population” in the territory.
A two-month ceasefire in the war collapsed in March, with Israel resuming intense strikes and calling up tens of thousands of reservists for an expanded offensive in the Gaza Strip.
“The decision is stark: remain passive and witness the slaughter of innocents or take part in crafting a just resolution,” dozens of United Nations-appointed independent experts said in a statement, urging the world to avert the “moral abyss we are descending into.”
An Israeli official said the expanded offensive in the Gaza Strip would entail the “conquest” of the Palestinian territory.
The experts, who are mandated by the UN Human Rights Council but who do not speak on behalf of the United Nations, said Israel’s actions in Gaza “follow alarming, documented patterns of genocidal conduct.”
While states debate terminology — is it or is it not genocide? — Israel continues its relentless destruction of life in Gaza
Experts mandated by the UN Human Rights Council
Israel flatly rejects such charges.
The experts, including Francesca Albanese, the special rapporteur on the rights situation in the Palestinian territories, said that “while states debate terminology — is it or is it not genocide? — Israel continues its relentless destruction of life in Gaza.”
“No one is spared — not the children, persons with disabilities, nursing mothers, journalists, health professionals, aid workers, or hostages,” the experts said.
They highlighted the devastating impact of Israel’s blockade on Gaza.
“Food and water have been cut off for months, inducing starvation, dehydration, and disease, which will result in more deaths becoming the daily reality for many,” the statement read.
Israel’s statements about the conflict, they said, “showcase a clear intent to wield starvation as a weapon of war.”
The experts highlighted the responsibility of other countries to end the bloodshed, saying that “the world is watching.”
Countries continuing to support Israel, especially militarily but also politically, they said, risk “complicity in genocide and other serious international crimes.”
Six European nations reject ‘any demographic or territorial change’ in Gaza
- Israel’s plan ‘would mark a new and dangerous escalation’ in the war, the FMs of Spain, Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Norway and Slovenia said in a joint statement
- FMs, who apart from Luxembourg represent countries that have recognized a Palestinian state, said the plans would ‘endanger any perspective of a viable two-state solution’
MADRID: Six European countries said Wednesday that they “firmly reject any demographic or territorial change in Gaza” after Israel announced plans to expand its military offensive in the Palestinian territory.
Israel’s plan “would mark a new and dangerous escalation” in the war, the foreign ministers of Spain, Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Norway and Slovenia said in a joint statement.
Israel has called up tens of thousands of reservists for the planned offensive, which comes after resumed Israeli attacks against militant group Hamas in March ended a two-month truce.An
Israeli military official has said the offensive would include the “conquest” of Gaza, holding territory and moving the strip’s population south “for their protection.”
The foreign ministers, who apart from Luxembourg represent countries that have recognized a Palestinian state, said the plans would “cross another line” and “endanger any perspective of a viable two-state solution” to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
A military escalation would “worsen an already catastrophic situation” for Palestinian civilians and endanger the lives of hostages held in Gaza, they added.
The ministers also asked Israel to “immediately lift the blockade” it has imposed on Gaza-bound humanitarian aid that has caused shortages of food, fuel and medicine and increased fears of famine.
“What is needed more urgently than ever is the resumption of the ceasefire and the unconditional release of all the hostages,” they said.
The war started after Hamas launched an unprecedented attack on Israel from Gaza on October 7, 2023 which resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
Palestinian militants also abducted 251 people that day, of whom 58 are still held in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.
Israel’s retaliatory military campaign has killed 52,653 people, mainly civilians, according to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza.
Yemen’s Houthis to keep attacking Israeli ships despite US deal
- “The waterways are safe for all international ships except Israeli ones,” Alejri told AFP
- “Israel is not part of the agreement, it only includes American and other ships“
SANAA: Yemen’s Houthi militants will continue targeting Israeli ships in the Red Sea, an official told AFP on Wednesday, despite a ceasefire that ended weeks of intense US strikes on the Iran-backed group.
A day after the Houthis agreed to stop firing on ships plying the key trade route off their shores, a senior official told AFP that Israel was excluded from the deal.
“The waterways are safe for all international ships except Israeli ones,” Abdulmalik Alejri, a member of the Houthi political bureau, told AFP.
“Israel is not part of the agreement, it only includes American and other ships,” he said.
The Houthis, who have controlled large swathes of Yemen for more than a decade, began firing on Israel-linked shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden in November 2023, weeks after the start of the Israel-Hamas war.
They broadened their campaign to target ships tied to the United States and Britain after military strikes by the two countries began in January 2024.
Alejri said the Houthis would now “only” attack Israeli ships. In the past, vessels visiting Israel, or those with tenuous Israeli links, were in the militants’ sights.
The US-Houthi deal was announced after deadly Israeli strikes on Tuesday put Sanaa airport out of action in revenge for a Houthi missile strike on Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport.
Sanaa airport director Khaled alShaief told the militants’ Al-Masirah television Wednesday the Israeli attack had destroyed terminal buildings and caused $500 million in damage.
Oman said it had facilitated an agreement between Washington and the militants that “neither side will target the other... ensuring freedom of navigation.”
US President Donald Trump, who will visit Gulf countries next week, trumpeted the deal, saying the Houthis had “capitulated.”
“They say they will not be blowing up ships anymore, and that’s... the purpose of what we were doing,” he said during a White House press appearance.
The ceasefire followed weeks of stepped-up US strikes aimed at deterring Houthi attacks on shipping. The US attacks left 300 people dead, according to an AFP tally of Houthi figures.
The Pentagon said last week that US strikes had hit more than 1,000 targets in Yemen since mid-March in an operation that has been dubbed “Rough Rider.”
Alejri said recent US-Iran talks in Muscat “provided an opportunity” for indirect contacts between Sanaa and Washington, leading to the ceasefire.
“America was the one who started the aggression against us, and at its beginning, we did not resume our operations on Israel,” he added.
“We did not target any American ships or warships until they targeted us.”
Scores of Houthi missile and drone attacks have drastically reduced cargo volumes on the Red Sea route, which normally carries about 12 percent of global maritime trade.
The Houthis say their campaign — as well as a steady stream of attacks on Israeli territory — is in solidarity with the Palestinians.
Hamas says commander killed in Israel Lebanon strike
- The dawn strike killed one person
- The Israeli military confirmed that it killed Ahmed, adding that he was “the head of operations in Hamas’s Western Brigade in Lebanon“
SIDON, Lebanon: Hamas said one of its commanders was killed in an Israeli strike on the south Lebanon city of Sidon on Wednesday, the latest attack despite a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.
Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said the dawn strike killed one person.
Hamas named him as Khaled Ahmed Al-Ahmed and said he was on his way to pray.
“As we mourn our heroic martyr, we pledge to God Almighty, and then to our people and our nation, to continue on the path of resistance,” the Palestinian militant group said in a statement.
The Israeli military confirmed that it killed Ahmed, adding that he was “the head of operations in Hamas’s Western Brigade in Lebanon.”
It alleged he had been engaged in weapons smuggling and advancing “numerous” attacks against Israel.
Israel has continued to launch regular strikes in Lebanon despite the November 27 truce which sought to halt more than a year of hostilities with Hezbollah including two months of full-blown war.
Under the deal, Hezbollah was to pull back its fighters north of Lebanon’s Litani River, some 30 kilometers (20 miles) from the Israeli border, and dismantle any remaining military infrastructure to its south.
Israel was to withdraw all its forces from Lebanon, but it has kept troops in five positions that it deems “strategic.”
A Lebanese security source told AFP that Hezbollah had withdrawn fighters from south of the Litani and dismantled most of its military infrastructure in the area.
Lebanon says it has respected its commitments and has called on the international community to pressure Israel to end its attacks and withdraw from the five border positions.
Last week, Lebanon’s top security body the Higher Defense Council warned Hamas against using the country for attacks on Israel.
The group has since handed over several Palestinians accused of firing rockets from Lebanon into Israel in March.
