Iran says it has arrested the person who filmed a Ukrainian passenger plane being shot down by a missile last week.
The person being detained is expected to face charges related to national security, the BBC reports.
However, the Iranian journalist based in London who initially shared the video on social media says his source is safe and Iranian officials have arrested the wrong person.
"I'm getting lots of calls. They have arrested the WRONG person regarding the #Flight752 In Iran," Nariman Gharib says on Twitter. "The person who is a source of the video is SAFE and I can assure you IRGC is orchestrating another lie. They killed 176 passengers on commercial plane. Thats the real story here."
I'm getting lots of calls.
They have arrested the WRONG person regarding the #Flight752 In Iran. The person who is a source of the video is SAFE and I can assure you IRGC is orchestrating another lie. They killed 176 passengers on commercial plane. Thats the real story here. https://t.co/X2k0ycwMBD
— 🤖Nariman (@NarimanGharib) January 14, 2020
Iranian officials haven't responded to Gharib's claim. The journalist has also taken to social media to ask Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to step in and ask officials to release the person in custody, asking why they need to arrest this person in the first place.
Earlier on Tuesday, officials in Iran said they made arrests for the accidental shootdown of the Ukrainian passenger plane. The crash killed all 176 people on board and also sparked protests in Iran. Some Iranians are demanding accountability after officials initially concealed the cause of the crash, the Associated Press reports.
Iran's judiciary said Tuesday that “some individuals" were arrested after “extensive investigations." But he didn't say how many individuals have been detained or name them.
Iran President Hassan Rouhani has called for a special court to be set up to try those responsible. While he pointed to mistakes and negligence, he also repeated the government's line that the plane tragedy was ultimately rooted in U.S. aggression.
U.S. President Donald Trump ordered the airstrike that killed Iran's most powerful commander January 3 in Baghdad, Revolutionary Guard Gen. Qassem Soleimani.
