Art student killed during the 2026 Iran Uprising
Robina Aminian, originally from Kermanshah and residing in Tehran, was killed on the evening of January 8, 2026, during nationwide popular protests and their violent suppression by the regime of Khamenei. As she was leaving her university campus, she was shot at close range from behind by security forces and passed away from her injuries.
Robina was 23 years old and the youngest child in her family. She was a student of textile and fashion design at Shariati Technical College in Tehran. A talented and ambitious young woman, she embodied the aspirations of a generation seeking dignity, opportunity, and creative freedom.
Following her death, her family traveled from Kermanshah to Tehran to identify and retrieve her body. They were met with intimidation, threats, and severe security restrictions. At the Kahrizak morgue, they encountered a harrowing scene: hundreds of lifeless young bodies, many bearing gunshot wounds to the head and neck. In order to find their daughter, the family was forced to search among these bodies themselves.
After considerable struggle, they were finally permitted to take custody of Robina’s body. However, on their return journey, intelligence agents surrounded the family home and prohibited her burial in Kermanshah. Ultimately, under continued pressure, the family was compelled to bury her along the road between Kermanshah and Kamyaran. At the graveside, her mother sang “Ey Shahidan” (“O Martyrs”), a hymn long associated with mourning and resistance.
The repression did not end there. Authorities barred the family from holding any public mourning ceremonies, either in Kermanshah or in Marivan, where Robina’s maternal relatives reside. Even in death, her family was denied the most basic rites of grief.
Robina Aminian was a young woman full of hope, deeply committed to freedom, and passionately in love with life. She dreamed of continuing her studies and building a professional career in fashion design in Milan, Italy—a dream extinguished by the bullets of a regime determined to silence a generation demanding change.
