The family of a young Iranian protester shared their harrowing experience of searching through piles of bodies to locate their loved one. Robina Aminian, a 23-year-old fashion student in Tehran, tragically lost her life on January 8 during the government’s crackdown on protests. Her family believes she was fatally shot by security forces.
After receiving the devastating news, Robina’s mother traveled from Kermanshah to Tehran to retrieve her daughter’s body. Faced with demands for bribes from authorities to release corpses, the family hastily left the mortuary with Robina’s body, fearing obstruction from guards.
Robina’s uncle, Nezar Minoei, revealed from Oslo that they had to take drastic measures to bring her body back home. They drove 230 miles to Kermanshah, only to find their residence surrounded by security forces. In a desperate attempt to give Robina a proper farewell, they buried her in an unmarked grave by the roadside.
Reports from the Centre for Human Rights in Iran highlight the disturbing trend of intelligence forces extorting money from families in exchange for the return of protest victims’ bodies. This practice aims to silence families through intimidation tactics.
Despite Iranian state television denying these allegations and claiming free mortuary services, activists estimate that over 3,090 individuals have died in the protests. Robina’s family emphasized that she was not politically involved and was merely a bystander at the protest.
Nezar lamented, “She had dreams of a promising future, but it was cruelly snatched away from her.” The family in Oslo expressed their lack of communication with relatives in Iran since the incident.