Flight 752 aftermath: protests and an arrest in Tehran
A look back at the days after Iran admitted it shot down a Kyiv-bound Ukraine International Airlines plane, as vigils turned into demonstrations.
What was happening in Iran in the days before 16 January 2020, after the Revolutionary Guard admitted to downing a passenger jet bound for Kyiv?
The flight was Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752, a scheduled service from Tehran to Kyiv. On 8 January 2020, the Boeing 737-800 was shot down by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps shortly after takeoff, killing all 176 people aboard. By 11 January 2020, the Guard Corps had admitted it mistakenly shot the aircraft down as it took off from Tehran.
On the same day, vigils held for the victims turned into protests. According to videos on Twitter, hundreds of demonstrators in Tehran called for the resignation of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
An ambassador detained
Also on 11 January 2020, the British ambassador to Iran, Robert Macaire, was arrested. As reported by the BBC, he had attended a vigil and then got a haircut. Iran's Tasnim News Agency said he was held on suspicion of organising, provoking and directing radical actions. UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said the arrest was a flagrant violation of international law. Macaire was released more than an hour later.
