Iranian student shot in head at close range amid protests, body buried along roadside

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At least 3,000 Iranians killed as anti-regime unrest grows

Fox News' Trey Yingst reports the latest on the escalation in Iran as the Trump administration weighs intervention. 

A 23-year-old student was shot in the head at close range during protests in Iran, according to Iran Human Rights, a Norway-based group, as the regime continues its violent crackdown on nationwide demonstrations.

Rubina Aminian, a student of textile and fashion design at Shariati Technical and Vocational College for Girls in Tehran, was killed Jan. 8 after leaving college and joining the protests in the capital, according to Iran Human Rights.

She is among the few victims of the recent unrest whose identity has been publicly confirmed.

"Sources close to Rubina’s family, citing eyewitnesses, told Iran Human Rights that the young Kurdish woman from Marivan was shot from close range from behind, with the bullet striking her head," the group said in a statement.

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Rubina Aminian, a 23-year-old textile design student, was shot in the head at close range during Tehran demonstrations, according to Iran Human Rights. (Iran Human Rights)

Following her death, Aminian’s family traveled from their home in Kermanshah, western Iran, to Tehran to identify her body.

According to sources cited by Iran Human Rights, the family was taken to a location near the college where they saw the bodies of hundreds of young people allegedly killed during the protests.

"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," a source close to the family said.

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Iran protests death toll rises as Rubina Aminian joins hundreds allegedly killed by government forces. (MAHSA / Middle East Images / AFP via Getty Images)

The family was reportedly initially barred from identifying Aminian’s body and later prevented from taking her remains, the group said.

After extensive efforts, relatives were eventually allowed to retrieve her body and return to Kermanshah.

When they got there, intelligence forces reportedly surrounded the family home and would not allow a burial to take place.

According to Iran Human Rights, the family was forced to bury Aminian’s body along the roadside between Kermanshah and the nearby city of Kamyaran.

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In this photo obtained by The Associated Press, tear gas is fired during an anti-government protest in Tehran, Iran, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026. (UGC via AP)

The family has also not been permitted to hold mourning ceremonies, and several mosques in Marivan were reportedly disallowed from hosting memorial services.

Iran’s spiraling anti-government protests have been driven by widespread anger over political repression and economic hardship, including rising inflation.

The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency estimated Tuesday that over 16,700 people have been detained.

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Other rights groups have reported extremely high death tolls, with some estimates exceeding 3,000, according to Fox News chief foreign correspondent Trey Yingst.

Iran Human Rights described Aminian in a statement 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."