Iranian security harassed families of victims who died when the military shot down an airliner, as they gathered to mark the second anniversary of the tragedy.

The association representing the families issued a statement on Tuesday, saying that authorities cut off the internet when they gathered at the crash site, to prevent sharing of images from the ceremony on social media.

It said that three people were arrested after they were chased by security forces in a situation that seemed like an abduction. They were kept in detention for several hours and were released after security forces erased the memory cards of their cameras.

A low-flying helicopter was also dispatched to the area to further unsettle the participants, the statement added.

It deplored such acts of “harassment and intimidation”, calling on the Islamic Republic to end the persecution of victims’ families who have nothing else to lose.

Ukrainian International Airways flight PS752 was shot down by two air-defense missiles fired by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) in the morning of January 8, 2020, as it took off from Tehran’s Imam Khomeini International Airport, killing all 176 people onboard.

Last week, Canada, Britain, Sweden and Ukraine said they had abandoned efforts to talk to Tehran about reparations for an airliner downed by Iran and would try to settle the matter according to international law.