A Tibetan man set himself on fire outside the United Nations headquarters in Manhattan on Thursday, July 2, and was later pronounced dead at Bellevue Hospital, New York police and news reports said.
The man has been identified by media as Lobga Rangzen. The New York Police Department told AFP that it received a call at 18:32 local time (22:32 GMT): “a male set himself on fire at First Avenue and 42nd Street. He was pronounced dead at Bellevue Hospital. Investigations ongoing.” The New York Post reported that police recovered placards reading “China out of Tibet.” Witnesses said the man was dressed in monk’s robes and planted a Tibetan flag on the sidewalk before igniting himself.
The self-immolation occurred a day after China’s new “ethnic unity” law came into force in Tibet. The law has prompted protests by Tibetans, Uyghurs and other Chinese dissidents in cities around the world, with critics saying it threatens minority languages, cultures and religious freedoms.
In a video posted to Instagram roughly an hour before the act, the man said basic human rights were under threat: “Today, human rights as basic as freedom of speech and religion, or the freedom to even keep a picture of the Dalai Lama, are not there,” he said, according to media reports.
The Central Tibetan Administration says at least 159 Tibetans are known to have self-immolated in Tibet since 2009. The incident is under investigation by NYPD and was reported by AFP and the New York Post.
First published: Jul 3, 2026 8:17 AM IST.