A referee and a student are among hundreds of people reportedly killed during massive anti-government protests in Iran.
Coach Amir Mohammad Koohkan, 26, was hit by live ammunition on January 3, during protests in the town of Neyriz, his friend told BBC Persian.
“Everyone knew him for his kindness,” they said, adding that his family is grieving and “angry because he was killed by the regime.”
Five days later, student Rubina Aminian, 23, was shot from behind during a protest in Tehran, according to human rights groups.
“She fought for things she knew were right,” her uncle told CNN.
Nearly 500 protesters and 48 security personnel have been killed in two weeks of protests, a US-based rights group says.
Sources in Iran have told the BBC the death toll is likely higher than reported.
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Demonstrations began on December 28, 2025, over the economy in the capital Tehran and have spread to 186 cities and all 31 provinces, according to the Human Rights Activist News Agency (HRANA).
The protests have grown into the largest in years, with calls for an end to the Islamic Republic and the rule of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The protests led to a government crackdown, with at least 10,600 people reportedly arrested and 496 protesters killed, according to HRANA.
Medical staff in Iran have described hospitals overwhelmed with dead and injured patients.
BBC Persian verified that 70 bodies were brought to Poursina Hospital in Rasht city on January 9, and the BBC counted 180 body bags in footage from one morgue near Tehran, thought to have been filmed on the same night.
The BBC and most other international news organisations are unable to report from inside Iran, and the Iranian government has imposed an internet shutdown since Thursday, making obtaining and verifying information difficult.
Among the protest victims was Koohkan, who was killed in Neyriz in south-west Fars Province, his friend told BBC Persian.
The friend did not witness the incident firsthand, but heard from eyewitnesses at the scene. “It was far too soon for him, really far too soon. He was so young,” the friend said.
The friend said they had known Koohkan, an indoor futsal (a form of football) coach and referee, for 10 years: “From childhood, he was my coach, then he became like my brother.”
They described Koohkan, who had one brother, as “someone who didn’t like to see people in this state… in this misery.”
“Everyone knew him for his kindness and good nature. The whole town loved him,” his friend said.
“The family is both grieving and angry. Grieving because they lost their son, angry because he was killed by the regime.”
Also killed was Aminian, a Kurdish student who was shot from behind while taking part in a protest on Thursday, according to three rights groups.
Two groups – Norway-based Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO) and Kurdish organisation Hengaw – said she was shot in the head, while the Kurdistan Human Rights Network said she was shot in the back.
Both Kurdish groups said she was shot by government forces.
The BBC has been unable to independently verify the circumstances of her death.
The 23-year-old, whose first name has also been spelled Robina or Roubina, was studying textile and fashion at Shariati Technical and Vocational College in Tehran, IHRNGO said.
