Youness Asakere, an Iranian fruit vendor who set himself on fire in front of the Khoramshahr municipality in protest after his fruit stand was confiscated by authorities, died March 22. His death, and the lack of broader attention by Iranian society, has stirred many questions among activists and analysts on social media.

Family members of Asakere, who was an ethnic Arab, said that the fruit stand was his sole means of income and that he had been previously denied official permits to have a stand. An official with Khouzestan province said that while it’s too early to assign blame, “in case of negligence” the officials will deal firmly with those responsible. Dozens of residents of showed up at Askere’s funeral in Khoramshahr March 23.

Many activists on social media questioned why his act did not lead to major protests. They compared his case with that of Tunisian fruit vendor Mohammad Bouazizi, whose similar act in 2011 is often credited with sparking mass protests that eventually led to the ouster of dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and later to protests across several other Arab countries that became known as the Arab Spring.

Most online comments have been critical of Iranian society, claiming that it has been “indifferent” to Askere’s case. Some activists also claimed that Askere's being a minority ethnic Arab prevented his case from having a broader appeal to Iranian society. Eventually there was pushback to these discussions critical of Iranian society.