NEWS CENTER - Iranian refugee Mostafa Ghasemi Hassanvand died by suicide behind the United Nations building in Hewlêr after the UN failed to respond to his asylum application. 

 

Iranian political activist and former political prisoner Mostafa Ghasemi Hassanvand, who had fled to the Kurdistan Region from Iran, died by suicide behind the United Nations (UN) building in Hewlêr on 2 August. According to Hengaw, Hassanvand had repeatedly appealed to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees during his stay in the Kurdistan Region, urging the agency to expedite the processing of his asylum claim and approve his application. After his applications were repeatedly rejected, months of uncertainty, and a lack of legal support, he died by suicide behind the UN building in protest.

 

According to available information, Hassanvard was arrested in Iran in 2023 and later imprisoned. It was learned that he was subjected to physical and psychological torture during his detention. After his release, he fled to the Kurdistan Region. Hassanvard was also reportedly a member of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI).