Fashion student, 23, shot in the head at close range during Iran protests

The family of a 23-year-old student k!lled in protests in Iran have said that they had to sift through hundreds of young peoples bodies to find her. Rubina Aminian, 23, a fashion student at Shariati College in Tehran, was k!lled after leaving the college and joining protest gatherings on the evening of Thursday, January 8. Sources close to her family told Iran Human Rights that the young Kurdish woman was shot from close range from behind in the head. Upon hearing of her k!lling, her family travelled to Tehran to identify her. They were met with lots of bodies of protesters who had been k!lled in the past week but werent allowed to take her for burial. Rubinas mother said: “It wasnt just my daughter; I saw hundreds of bodies with my own eyes.” A source close to her said: “The family was forced to search among the bodies themselves to identify their daughter, and they undoubtedly saw many of the bodies of young people k!lled during the protests.” Her family described Rubina as “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.” Eventually the family managed to free her body but found out that the army had surrounded their home in Marivan, preventing her burial. She was buried on the roadside between Kermanshah and Kamyaran. Her name emerged as one of at least 500 protesters k!lled in Tehran since mass demonstrations threatened to topple the regime.  Iran threatened to attack Israel and US bases if Donald Trump launches strikes over the brutal crackdown on anti-government protestors. Meanwhile, enormous crowds of Iranians defied threats they would face the de@th penalty to gather across the country on Saturday night, Jan. 10, in the largest challenge to the rule of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Hundreds of protestors are feared to have been k!lled in the past three days by security forces loyal to the regime, which is fighting for its survival. Iran is under an internet blackout, but verified video has emerged showing protestors taking over the streets in Tehrans Gisha district and clashing with security forces in the city of Mashhad. The de@th toll in the crackdown on nationwide protests in Iran has spiked to at least 538 people, activists said. More than 10,600 people have been detained, said the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency. Of those k!lled, 490 are protesters and 48 are members of the security forces, it said, warning the toll is likely to go up. With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut off, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. The Iranian government has not offered any overall casualty figures for the demonstrations. Khamenei has labelled the demonstrators a “bunch of vandals” seeking to “please” Trump. The latest anti-government protests in Iran began on December 28, 2025, over rampant inflation. They have since spread to more than 100 cities. The regime imposed an internet blackout, which reportedly applies to international phone calls, on Thursday, Jan. 8, according to internet freedom watchdog NetBlocks. Despite this, images have emerged of protests across the country, as well as a huge fire ripping through a government building in Karaj, near Tehran. Hospitals are said to be facing a “completely chaotic” situation, overwhelmed with de@d and injured patients. An Iranian social worker who attended a protest in Tehran on Friday told CNN that the demonstration turned into a “nightmare” when security forces began attacking people on the streets. She said: “Bullets, who knows, tear gas, whatever you can think of, they would fire them. And it was very terrifying.” The post Fashion student, 23, shot in the head at close range during Iran protests appeared first on Linda Ikeji Blog.