Higher Education Minister Visits Chinese Consulate Over Death of Kurdish Doctoral Student

Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research.

Dr Aram Mohammed Qadir, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, and Chinese CG Liu Jun.

Dr Aram Mohammed Qadir, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research of the Kurdistan Region, accompanied by a ministry delegation, visited the Chinese Consulate in Erbil on 13 September 2026 to follow up on the investigation into the death of Kurdish doctoral student Mohammed Saadeddin Hadi in China.

During the meeting with Liu Jun, Consul General of China in Erbil, Qadir expressed his deep concern over the student’s death and stressed the need for a thorough and transparent legal investigation into the circumstances of the case.

The minister also said the ministry was ready to send a delegation to China if necessary, expressing hope that the investigation would provide clear answers and reassurance to the student’s family, relatives and friends, as well as Kurdish students studying in China.

For his part, the Chinese consul said this was the first such incident involving the death of a Kurdish student in China.

He added that the Iraqi Embassy in China was in contact with the Ocean University of China and the relevant regional authorities to investigate the case and determine the cause of death.

The consul assured the minister that the officials handling the investigation were experienced and were carrying out their duties professionally.

Kurdish PhD student Mohammed Saadalddin Hadi, from Halabja province in the Kurdistan Region, was found dead in the Chinese city of Qingdao, in eastern Shandong province.

Hadi was in his first year of a PhD programme in computer science at the Ocean University of China. He was reportedly found by a Chinese national near a river in Qingdao.

The circumstances surrounding his death remain unclear, and an investigation is underway to determine the cause and circumstances of the incident.



PUKMEDIA