Behzad Mahmoudi, 25, has been living in the Kurdistan Region for four years. On Tuesday afternoon, in front of several reporters, he poured petrol on his body and set himself on fire. He was taken to hospital in critical condition with burns to 91 percent of his body.
Speaking to Rudaw from the hospital, Mahmoudi said he needs help from the UNHCR because he is living in dire circumstances and unable to find work.
“They have to help me. We have no work, no money and our only hope is the UN and the UN doesn’t answer us. It is our right,” he said.
He said that he had asked the UNHCR for help before staging his protest, but was dismissed.
In a statement to Rudaw, a spokesperson for the UN mission in Iraq (UNAMI) said they are “shocked and saddened with the whole incident and on behalf of the United Nations family in Iraq, wish the young man a speedy recovery.”
The UNHCR is expected to also issue a statement.
Video of Mahmoud’s self-immolation quickly circulated on social media and many were outraged that reporters filmed the man setting himself on fire instead of intervening. “They were just watching, unbelievable,” said Twitter user Hawar Salih. “It’s as if filming is more important than someone’s life in this modern society.”
“Media ethics & a bit of humanity needs to be restored for everyone behind a camera,” tweeted Biza Barzo.
The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) issued a statement expressing their sorrow for the incident and criticizing the media coverage.
“We strongly condemn those media outlets that covered this incident cold-heartedly, disregarding journalism ethics, law, and the Kurdistan Regional Government’s guidelines,” read a statement from the KRG’s media office, calling on the authorities to “prevent such actions, and the public prosecutor should do its duty to prevent the repetition of such inhumane behavior.”
With reporting by Farhad Dolomari
