Tragic stories are emerging from Iran amid the regime's deadly crackdowns on anti-government protesters. They include that of 23-year-old fashion student Rubina Aminian, whose family says she was shot at close range in the back of the head.

Tehran

The recent crackdown on anti-government protests in Iran has resulted in a significant number of civilian deaths, with medical officials estimating the toll to be in the thousands. The case of Rubina Aminian, a 23-year-old student killed during the protests, highlights the personal tragedies experienced by families and the severity of the state's response.

Human rights organizations and eyewitnesses have verified numerous fatalities, and reports indicate this crackdown is deadlier than previous major uprisings. Amid internet blackouts and state media broadcasts, families of victims face intimidation and house arrest, yet continue to speak out about the violence and loss.

Tragic stories emerge amid deadly crackdowns in Iran

Her name was Rubina Aminian. The 23-year-old studied fashion and textile design in Tehran, sharing a bright, creative life online. But after joining a major anti-government protest in the heart of the capital last Thursday, Aminian was shot in the back of the head at close range and killed, victim of a deadly crackdown by Iranian state security. Hilala Nouri is her aunt, who lives in exile in Norway. When they confirmed she had been killed, it was like my whole body was on fire. Aminian's mother drove six hours from their home in Western Iran to identify her at a makeshift morgue. My sister saw hundreds of bodies lying on top of each other. All of them had been shot in their heads and their necks. She had to look at all of their beautiful faces before she found our dear Rubina. The Oslo-based group Iran Human Rights, which tracks killings and executions, verified Rubina Aminian's case through family sources and on-the-ground eyewitness accounts. Mahmoud Amiri Moghadam speaks for the group. I think that the regime in Iran seriously fears for its own survival, and it's doing whatever it takes to continue its rule. Including the mass killing of civilians? Including the mass killing. Medical officials contacted by CBS News inside Iran believe the death toll is now in the many thousands, a crackdown far deadlier than any previous major uprising, like the 2009 Green Movement, the 2019 Fuel protest, and 2022's Women Life Freedom demonstrations. Each had its trigger, and each was crushed with brutal force, but not like this. After more than a week of near-total internet and telecommunications blackout, Iranian state TV broadcasts the funerals of security forces killed by, quote, rioters, and has also aired more than 100 confessions. It's a demonstration of brutality that is beyond imagination. It's trying to traumatize the whole society, maybe a whole generation, so that they don't stand up again. The regime's crackdown has been so brutal and so vast, few have dared to speak out. And for Rabina Aminian's family in Iran, they are now under house arrest, but say they cannot let her story go untold. I am here with a heart full of pain and with this tired body, but I am talking to you so that I don't allow our oppressor to become stronger or let the dictator become more powerful. What is your message to President Trump? We only want Supreme Leader Khamenei's blood. We don't want anything else.

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