Family of Iranian protester searched for her body in a pile of corpses and buried her on a roadside

Robina Aminian’s family believes the college student was killed by a bullet fired by Iranian security forces straight into the back of her head during nationwide protests challenging Iran’s theocracy.

The tragedy marks only the beginning of the family’s harrowing ordeal. Aminian’s mother had to search through piles of bloodied corpses to locate her daughter’s body. The family then rushed to escape authorities who might demand payment for releasing the remains, ultimately burying her in an unmarked roadside pit.

More than a week after her death, relatives say they still have not held a proper funeral for the young Kurdish woman who was studying fashion in Tehran.

“She wanted a bright future for herself,” her uncle, Nezar Minoei, told reporters from Oslo. “But unfortunately, the future has been stolen from her.”

Details surrounding Aminian’s death remain limited. Her mother called relatives abroad to share what she learned from her daughter’s friends who witnessed the killing. Three relatives described similar accounts of the mother’s testimony, and Oslo-based Iran Human Rights released a report verifying a shooting on January 8 near Shariati Technical and Vocational College for Girls.

With communications severely restricted in Iran, independent confirmation of the family’s account has been challenging. The Iranian mission to the United Nations in New York has declined to comment on the incident.

According to Human Rights Activists News Agency, which maintains a network of on-the-ground activists in Iran, at least 3,090 people have been killed in the protests. The Iranian government has not released official casualty figures.

The family’s knowledge about Aminian’s death comes from a brief call her mother, Amina Norei, made on January 10 to relatives in Oslo. Norei had been contacted by her daughter’s friends on January 8, who reported that Aminian had been shot by security forces.

The friends recounted how they were walking away from campus after dark when they encountered a protest and joined in. Security forces allegedly fired into the crowd, with a bullet striking Aminian in the back of the head.

Video evidence verified by independent sources shows Iranian agents using rifles and shotguns to disperse protesters across the country. While authorities have labeled some demonstrators as “terrorists” and claimed some were armed, there are no allegations that anyone near Aminian was carrying weapons at the time of her death. Family members emphasized she was not politically active.

When Norei learned of her daughter’s death, she immediately traveled from Kermanshah, a western Kurdish city, to Tehran—a journey of nearly 460 kilometers. At the morgue, she described the traumatic experience of unzipping body bag after body bag in search of Aminian.

“She looked through so many beautiful faces, trying to find her girl,” Hali Norei, Aminian’s aunt, said from Oslo. “And what is so horrifying for me is imagining what my sister feels as she searches for her daughter.”

This grim search is not unique to Aminian’s family. Amnesty International reports that many Iranian families are searching overflowing morgues for loved ones, with bodies piling up in trucks, freight containers, and warehouses throughout the country.

Upon finding her daughter, Norei, joined by her husband and other children, quickly removed the body from the facility, fearing authorities would prevent them from leaving or demand payment for the release of the remains.

“She actually stole the body,” Minoei explained.

The Center for Human Rights in Iran confirmed to reporters that it has received multiple accounts of intelligence forces demanding money from families in exchange for releasing protesters’ bodies—a practice the organization described as “a well-known, standard practice” intended to intimidate families from publicly mourning their dead.

Other families have reported being forced to sign documents falsely declaring that their deceased relatives were members of security forces to retrieve bodies. Iranian state television has recently claimed that mortuary and burial services are free, an apparent response to these allegations.

According to Minoei, the mother and her oldest daughter spent the seven-hour journey back to Kermanshah holding Aminian’s body in the backseat, blood staining their clothes. Upon arrival, they discovered security forces surrounding their home.

With few options available, the family drove out of town and hastily dug a roadside grave where they buried Aminian without ceremony. She reportedly remains there in an unmarked grave.

Family members abroad say they have not heard from Amina Norei or other relatives in Iran since Sunday, raising concerns about their safety and wellbeing during this period of nationwide unrest.