The family left Iran in the early 1980s, taking refuge in Greece before settling in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Hassani's support for the Mujahedin led her to move to Paris, where she joined the National Council of Resistance of Iran.
[2] On 17 June 2003, Hassani was on holiday in London, when police in France raided the headquarters of the People's Mojahedin of Iran.
[4] On the evening of 18 June, at approximately 7:15 p.m., Hassani returned by herself to the front of the French embassy in London, where she doused herself in gasoline and set herself on fire.
[5] Hassani was one of four people who set themselves on fire in front of the French embassy in London, in the days following the arrests of Mujahedin members in France.