A 23-year-old student was shot in the head at close range amid [missing text], per Iran Human Rights—a Norway-based organization—as the regime continues its violent suppression of nationwide protests.
Rubina Aminian, who studied textile and fashion design at Tehran’s Shariati Technical and Vocational College for Girls, died on January 8 after leaving her college and joining the capital’s protests, according to [missing text].
She is one of the few victims of recent unrest whose identity has been publicly confirmed.
In a statement, the group said: “Sources close to Rubina’s family, referencing eyewitnesses, informed Iran Human Rights that the young Kurdish woman from Marivan was shot at close range from behind, with the bullet hitting her head.”
After her passing, Aminian’s family traveled from their home in Kermanshah (western Iran) to Tehran to identify her body.
Per sources cited by Iran Human Rights, the family was taken to a location near the college where they saw the bodies of hundreds of young people allegedly killed during the protests.
A source close to the family stated: “Most of the victims were young people aged between 18 and 22, shot at close range in the head and neck by government forces.”
Reportedly, the family was initially barred from identifying Aminian’s body and later prevented from taking her remains, the group noted.
Following extensive efforts, relatives were eventually allowed to retrieve her body and return to Kermanshah.
Upon arriving there, intelligence forces reportedly surrounded the family home and refused to allow a burial to take place.
According to Iran Human Rights, the family was forced to bury Aminian’s body along the roadside between Kermanshah and the nearby city of Kamyaran.
The family has also not been permitted to hold mourning ceremonies, and several mosques in Marivan were allegedly disallowed from hosting memorial services.
Iran’s escalating [missing text] have been fueled by widespread anger over political repression and economic hardship, including rising inflation.
On Tuesday, the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency estimated that over 16,700 people have been detained.
Other rights groups have reported extremely high death tolls, with some [missing text], according to [missing text] chief foreign correspondent Trey Yingst.
In a statement, Iran Human Rights described Aminian as “a young woman brimming with joy for life and passionate about fashion and clothing design, whose dreams were buried by the Islamic Republic’s violent repression.”