SANCTIONS ON AIR INDUSTRY INHUMANE: PROSECUTOR GENERAL

Tehran Times
July 21 2009

TEHRAN – In a statement released on Monday, National Prosecutor
General Qorban-Ali Dorri Najafabadi denounced the sanctions against
air industry, saying it is "against humanity".

The remarks by the prosecutor general came as an Iranian passenger
plane crashed last Wednesday in northwestern Iran, killing all 153
passengers and 15 crew members.

"ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization) and other
international organizations should understand that the sanctions
against air industry are a clear manifestation of attempts against
humanity," he stated.

"Despite all the efforts during the recent years to improve the
security of flights, sanctions on plane parts are still killing
passengers."

Dorri Najafabadi also asked the administration to clarify the causes
of the plane crash on Wednesday.

Increasing the security of the planes is a national demand and the
officials should make utmost effort to prevent the recurrence of such
unfortunate events, he insisted.

Caspian Airlines Flight 7908, which was en route to Yerevan, went
down 20 kilometers from the city of Qazvin about 15 minutes after
takeoff from Tehran’s Imam Khomeini Airport.

The plane was a Russian-made Tupolev.

A team of eight young Iranian judokas and their two coaches were
among the victims.

Ahmad Majidi, the head of the special working group investigating
the Caspian Airlines crash, said on Sunday the bodies of 152 people
killed in the fiery plane crash have been returned to their families