Tehran; Rubina Aminian, 23-year-old Kurdish student and fashion designer from Kermanshah A victim whose story initially revealed the brutal scale of the protesters' massacre New footage shows her burial accompanied by the anthem "O Martyrs"

February 9, 2026; “Rubina Aminian,” a 23-year-old student at Shariati University in Tehran and a fashion designer, is the identity of one of the victims of the popular protests in Tehran on January 8, 2026. On January 11, the details of her killing were widely circulated—a narrative that pulled back the curtain on the extent of the Islamic Republic's massacre of protesters.

According to reliable sources quoting Rubina’s family, at a location near the university later identified as the “Kahrizak Mortuary,” they witnessed the bodies of hundreds of young people killed by government forces, most of whom had been shot in the head and neck. To identify their daughter, the family was forced to search through hundreds of corpses.

Witnesses, citing the family, stated that the identification and handover process was fraught with pressure and threats; initially, identification was denied, and subsequently, the release of the body was blocked. After significant struggle, Rubina’s family succeeded in retrieving her body. however, during the journey back, intelligence forces surrounded their home and prohibited her burial in Kermanshah. Ultimately, the family was forced to bury her midway between Kermanshah and Kamyaran.

The state pressure continued after her killing; government and security forces denied the family permission to hold any mourning ceremonies, either in Kermanshah or in Marivan (the home of her mother’s family).

February 9, 2026; A month after her passing, the first images of her burial have surfaced. The footage shows a small gathering where her mother’s voice can be heard shouting the lyrics to the anthem "Ay Shahidan" (O Martyrs).

Rubina Aminian was a 23-year-old textile and fashion design student. On the evening of Thursday, January 8, after leaving the university to join the protest rallies, she was targeted from behind at close range by the repressive forces of the Islamic Republic. A bullet struck her head, killing her instantly. Her friends notified her family, who traveled from Kermanshah to Tehran to identify her body.

Her family described Rubina as the "youngest child and the light of the house"—a girl full of hope, a lover of freedom and life, and passionate about fashion design. She dreamed of continuing her professional studies in Milan, Italy; dreams that were permanently silenced by the gunfire of the Islamic Republic’s security forces.