The family of a young protester from Iran shared their harrowing experience of searching through a chaotic mortuary to locate her remains. Robina Aminian, a 23-year-old student at Shariati Technical and Vocational College for Girls in Tehran, tragically lost her life on January 8 during the government’s crackdown on demonstrations. Allegedly shot by security forces, her family had to navigate a mortuary filled with bodies and face demands for bribes to claim her body.
Nezar Minoei, Robina’s uncle, revealed that her mother undertook the risky task of retrieving her daughter’s body, describing the situation as having to “steal the body.” The family transported Robina’s body 230 miles back to Kermanshah, only to find their home surrounded by security forces. In a desperate move, they buried her in an unmarked grave by the roadside to avoid further complications.
Reports from the Centre for Human Rights in Iran highlighted a disturbing practice of intelligence forces extorting money from families to release protesters’ bodies, aiming to intimidate them into silence. Families have also been coerced into falsely declaring their deceased loved ones as security force members before reclaiming their bodies.
While Iranian state television denied these allegations, activists estimate that over 3,090 individuals have lost their lives during the protests that initially began over economic issues but evolved into a broader movement against the longstanding authoritarian regime. The government has not disclosed official casualty figures.
Robina’s family asserts that she was not politically active and had joined a protest that turned deadly when security forces opened fire. Heartbroken by her untimely death, Nezar lamented that her aspirations for a promising future were cruelly taken away.
Relatives residing in Oslo expressed their inability to contact Amina Norei and other family members in Iran since the recent events.