In the midst of ongoing unrest in Iran, a tragic incident involving a young Kurdish woman has come to light. Rubina Aminian, a 23-year-old student from Shariati College in Tehran, was reportedly shot and killed during a protest last Thursday. The non-profit organization Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO), based in Norway, has been closely monitoring the human rights situation in the country and provided details about her death.

Aminian, who was pursuing studies in fashion and textiles, joined the protest after leaving her college. Eyewitness accounts shared with IHRNGO indicate that she was shot in the head from behind, at close range, an event that underscores the perilous environment faced by demonstrators.

The heartbreaking news reached Aminian’s family through sources close to them, who had gathered information from those present at the protest. Her family had to make the harrowing journey of over 500 kilometers from their hometown of Kermanshah to Tehran to identify her body, a journey no family should have to make.

Upon seeing the aftermath of the protests, Aminian’s mother shared a grim observation, stating, “It wasn’t just my daughter; I saw hundreds of bodies with my own eyes.” Her words paint a stark picture of the severe and widespread consequences of the ongoing unrest in the region.

Her mother said, “It wasn’t just my daughter; I saw hundreds of bodies with my own eyes”.

Video shared by the organisation on social media appears to show dozens, perhaps hundreds, of people walking through rows of bodybags, searching for loved ones killed in the protests.

“The family was taken to a location near the college where they were confronted with the bodies of hundreds of young people killed during the protests,” IHRNGO reported. 

“Most of the victims were young people between 18 and 22 years old, who had been shot at close range in the head and neck by government forces. 

“At first, the family was not allowed to identify Rubina’s body, and later they were not permitted to take her body with them.”

According to the organisation, the family was eventually able to reclaim her body but, after returning to find their home “surrounded” by intelligence forces, were forced to bury her alongside a road, and have been unable to hold a funeral or any mourning ceremonies.

Those close to Aminian said she was “a young woman full of joy for life and passionate about fashion and clothing design, whose dreams were buried by the violent repression of the Islamic Republic”, IHRNGO said.

Bodybuilder and father of three among those killed

Ebrahmin Yousifi, a father of three children, was killed after he was shot in the head during protests in Kermanshah in western Iran on Thursday.

His cousin told CNN that his family does not know if the 42-year-old hospital worker’s body has been returned due to the internet blackout.

“Even our relatives in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq have been unable to reach anyone in Iran to confirm whether his body has been returned,” he said.

Former bodybuilding champion Mehdi Zatparvar is also among the dead.

Zatparvar, 39, was killed in the city of Rasht in north-central Iran during a protest on Thursday, according to Norwegian human rights group Hengaw.

What started as protests in two major markets in Tehran on December 28 in response to the plunging local currency, the rial, has since escalated into massive anti-government demonstrations across the country.

Authorities have unleashed a brutal crackdown, particularly since January 3 when Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said “rioters must be put in their place”.

Exactly how many citizens have been killed or detained is uncertain, in part due to the internet blackout.

IHRNGO says 192 people have been confirmed dead, but added the actual death toll may be as high as 2000.