An off-duty Iranian Christian fireman was reportedly shot dead by security forces while attempting to put out a deadly blaze at a bazaar in Rasht, northern Iran, during the recent protests. 

Assyrian news sites report that Yohanna Mirpadyab and others were blocked by security forces from reaching the scene of the fire on 8 January, and that when Yohanna attempted to break through the blockade, he was shot in the head.

Initial reports claimed Yohanna was an Assyrian, but according to Article18’s sources, he was a Christian convert.

Hundreds of protesters are believed to have died in the fire, amid claims that the security forces started the blaze, forced protesters inside, and shot those who tried to escape.

Tens of thousands of protesters are believed to have been killed in total in the crackdown on the protests, including at least seven Armenian Christians and a total now of five Christian converts.

The United Nations Human Rights Council held a special session last week to discuss the “deteriorating human rights situation in the Islamic Republic of Iran”, at which a resolution was passed renewing the mandates of the Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran, Mai Sato, and independent Fact-Finding Mission (FFM) and calling on the FFM to “conduct an urgent investigation” into rights violations in response to the protests.