Neda Hassani 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. 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. 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
Neda Agha-Soltan Graduate Scholarship without connections to the college and some who the college said had taken "significant risks in order to donate". The decision to name the scholarship after Agha-Soltan was that of the donors rather than the college: Paul Madden, the Provost of the college, said that "within reason" donors decided the name of a scholarship. The scholarship pays college fees of about £4,000 over a two-year period. It is open to all students at Queen's studying for post-graduate degrees in philosophy, with preference given to Iranian nationals or those with Iranian heritage. The first holder of the scholarship was Arianne Shahvisi,