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 the scholarship was Arianne Shahvisi, a philosophy student of Iranian descent, who described the award as "a great honour". The establishment of the scholarship led to criticism from the Iranian government: the Iranian embassy in London told the college that the university was involved in a "politically motivated campaign ... in sharp contrast with its academic objectives". In response, "The Times" praised the scholarship in an editorial, saying that the establishment of the scholarship was indeed politically motivated, "and admirably so", given the government's reaction to her death and continuing problems in Iran. One British–Iranian student, Leyla Ferani, has said