The University of Windsor community paused on the sixth anniversary of a disaster that claimed five of its own.
On January 8, 2020, Ukrainian International Airlines Flight PS752 was shot down by an Iranian cruise missile shortly after taking off from Tehran, Iran. All 176 people aboard were killed, including five people who were starting the trip back to Windsor to continue their studies at U of W.
Biology research assistant Samira Bashiri was on the flight, along with engineering doctoral students Hamidreza Setareh Kokab, Pedram Jadidi, Zahra Naghibi, and Naghibi's spouse Mohammad Abbaspour Ghadi.
For the fifth year in a row, a memorial service for the five victims took place, with Canterbury College hosting it for the first time on Thursday. Organizers said that the purpose was to remember all those lost on the flight, and support those still seeking justice for what happened.
Co-organizer Behzad Bolandi became emotional while speaking to WindsorNewsToday.ca about the impact the five people had on the local community.
"Five of my friends were on this flight, five of my classmates back in Iran," said Bolandi. "They wanted to create a beautiful life for themselves, for their future, for their families."
Bolandi added that the students were looking for opportunities that were not available to them back in Iran.
"They don't even have the first, primary human rights in Iran," said Bolandi. "We just want this regime gone. That's all we want."
The incident took place at a time of heightened tension between Iran and the United States. The Iranian military admitted shooting down PS752, but claimed it was an accident.
Since the incident, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice ruled that the airline was solely responsible for compensating the families of the victims. In October 2024, the federal government offered Canadian permanent residency to families of the victims.
-with files from Maureen Revait and Adelle Loiselle
