Neda Hassani

Neda Hassani (born 1977, Tehran, Iran; d. June 23, 2003, London, England) is notable as an Iranian protester who committed suicide by self-immolation.

On June 17, 2003, Hassani was on holiday in London, when police in France raided the headquarters of the People's Mojahedin of Iran, holding approximately 160 members for questioning, including Maryam Rajavi, a co-leader of the group, with her husband, Massoud Rajavi. The group was suspected of planning attacks against Iranian interests in Europe. Hassani later joined a student protest at the French embassy in London, protesting the arrest in France and possible deportation to Iran of Rajavi and other members of the Mujahedin. There was a discussion among some of the protesters of protesting via self-immolation. Hassani was quoted as saying "We all think of doing that", despite the fact that co-leader Maryam Rajavi expressed her opposition to suicidal protests. On the evening of June 18, at approximately 7:15 p.m., Hassani returned, alone, to the front of the French embassy in London, where she doused herself in gasoline and set herself on fire. She was found two hours later, and subsequently died in hospital on June 23, in the presence of her mother, having never regained consciousness.

Hassani's body was returned to Canada for burial. At Hassani's funeral, on June 30, 2003, Hassani's mother expressed pride in her daughter's actions. She also expressed similar sentiments in England, immediately following her daughter's death, while discouraging others from following her daughter's example.

Hassani was a supporter of the People's Mujahedin of Iran, as of 1988, following the execution of her uncle, Mahmoud Hassani, in Iran. She was not a member of the organization, according to her parents. Mahmoud Hassani was the younger brother of her father, and had been imprisoned for seven years in Iran, prior to his execution. As a child, Hassani had visited her uncle in prison. Her uncle was among a group of an estimated 35,000 dissidents executed at that time. Hassani's support for the Mujahedin led her to move to Paris, to join the National Council of Resistance of Iran.

She was part of an organization MEK or PMOI who worked with Saddam Hussein who use biological weapons on Iranians during the Iran Iraq War 1980 to 1988.

Neda Hassani was born to Ahmed and Foroogh Hassani, as the eldest child of an Iranian family of three children. The family left Iran in the early 1980s, taking refuge in Greece before settling in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Hassani attended Carleton University, studying computer science.