An Assyrian Christian citizen was killed in Fardis, Karaj, during protest gatherings.

In recent days, during citizen protest rallies held to protest the 50 percent increase in gasoline prices and the spread of economic problems, an Assyrian Christian citizen living in Fardis, Karaj, lost his life as a result of direct fire from Ashur Kalta police and security officers.

According to Human Rights in Iran, on Sunday, November 19, 2019, “Ashur Kalta,” an Assyrian Christian citizen from Urmia County, resident of Fardis Karaj, born on February 24, 1988, lost his life during widespread protest rallies held in Fardis Karaj simultaneously with other cities in Iran to protest the increase in gasoline prices, following violent behavior and the use of firearms by security officers and direct shooting by them.

According to an informed source in an interview with the Human Rights Reporter in Iran, while announcing this news, “Ashur Kalta”, a 37-year-old Assyrian Christian citizen living in Fardis, Karaj, lost his life at that moment when police officers fired directly at the demonstrators, hitting him.

Human Rights in Iran, on November 17 and 18, 2019, reported in three reports that at least 22 citizens were killed during these protest rallies. However, it is important to note that given the lack of transparency in the free flow of information in Iran, the widespread suppression of freedom of expression, and the shutdown of the internet, the security environment prevailing in the country certainly places the number of citizens killed during this round of protest rallies far higher than these figures.

Also, considering that the internet in Iran has been blocked in this space for 4 days by order of the Supreme National Security Council of the Islamic Republic, Iranian security and judicial officials, despite having all the statistics and names of the people killed, denied the high number of citizens killed in these protest rallies, and only reported the death of 1 person in Sirjan, 1 person in Shahriar County, 1 person in Islamshahr, 2 people in Bomahan, and 1 in Mallard!

During this round of protest rallies that began on Friday, November 14, 2019, after the announcement of a 50 percent increase in gasoline prices in Iranian provinces and cities, many protesting citizens were suppressed by security and law enforcement forces with violent and violent behavior, including the use of firearms and direct shooting at citizens from the roofs of government buildings, which resulted in the deaths and injuries of many protesting citizens.

On November 19, 2019, Amnesty International published a statistical report on the number of people killed in these protest rallies, stating that the number of people killed was 106 in 21 cities in Iran.

The international human rights organization stated in its report that it believes the number of deaths is higher than it has announced. Previously, some unofficial reports had stated that the number of deaths was 200.

The spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed concern about the current situation in Iran and said: "The UN Secretary-General is deeply concerned about the clashes between protesting citizens and security forces in Iran, and is deeply saddened and distressed by the loss of life of many citizens in Iran, and is following these protest rallies."

Also, Michelle Bachelet, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, expressed concern about the spread of violence in Iran by security forces against citizens, saying: "We are deeply concerned about the violations of international laws and standards on the use of force, including the firing of live ammunition against demonstrators in Iran during the protest rallies that began on Friday and continued until this week, causing a significant number of deaths across Iran."

It should be noted that the National Petroleum Products Distribution Company announced the rationing and increase in gasoline prices in the country without prior announcement and said that this decision was made by the Supreme Coordination Council of the Heads of the Three Powers in the Iranian government. Accordingly, rationed gasoline will be sold with a 50% increase in price at 1,500 Tomans per liter and free gasoline with a threefold increase in price at 3,000 Tomans per liter. After that, widespread protest rallies began in the cities of the country, which simultaneously with the formation of widespread protest rallies and the subsequent use of live ammunition and firearms by security forces, more than 100 citizens lost their lives. An important point is the statistics provided on the deaths, which, given the lack of access to free circulation of information in the country, the number of deaths in these protest rallies is far higher than these figures.

The increase in gasoline prices was announced while earlier on November 11, 2019, Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh, while announcing the discovery of a new oil field in Iran, had declared the news of gasoline price increases this year as rumors and said: "Whenever an order is given to us and communicated, we will inform the people."

The use of the tactic of attributing citizens' protest gatherings demanding their citizenship rights to issues rooted in the mismanagement of the country by judicial, security, and government officials has been evident in the literature and speech of these individuals for years, as killings, beatings, and arrests have become commonplace for the Islamic Republic government, which is severely suppressing freedom of expression and citizens.

While many citizens were killed and injured in these protest gatherings, and countless citizens were arrested by security and law enforcement agencies, on November 2, 2019, Ebrahim Raisi, the head of the Judiciary, attended a meeting of the Supreme Council for Human Rights in the Islamic Republic, which was held with the presence of Ali Shamkhani and Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, two other senior members of the Judiciary and the Supreme National Security Council of the Islamic Republic, and referred to the government of the Islamic Republic as a government that has complete equality with the principles of human rights at its root and core!

Also, Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, has repeatedly claimed in his speeches that no citizen in Iran is prosecuted or arrested for merely criticizing, and that such violent behavior shows the truth of the suppression and expansion of the security environment in Iran, and indicates that the rulers of the Islamic Republic are great masters of sophistry, fallacy, and interpretation.

Previously, on November 6, 2019, members of the Human Rights Headquarters of the Judiciary of the Islamic Republic of Iran, who were attending the United Nations Human Rights Council meeting, denied the extra-legal functioning of the judiciary in Iran and the widespread human rights violations in Iran in a side session held on the sidelines of the meeting. In this meeting, which was attended by “Mohammad Javad Larijani”, the head of the Human Rights Headquarters of the Judiciary of the Islamic Republic of Iran and his companions, while defending and legitimizing human rights violations in Iran, he denied many cases, including the widespread deprivation of citizens from the right to a fair trial, the existence of torture in Iranian prisons, the suppression of freedom of expression, the suppression of followers of other religions in Iran, and the suppression of ethnic minorities in Iran, and he considered the documented reports of “Javed Rahman”, the Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran, to be untrue.

Suppression, beating, and arresting citizens and preventing them from holding protest gatherings to demand their citizenship rights are clear examples of suppression of freedom of expression and violate international human rights documents, including Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights , as well as Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, adopted on December 16, 1966, which emphasizes the right of individuals to disseminate their thoughts and opinions without border restrictions.

Source: Human Rights in Iran