According to authorities, an Iranian woman who competes in competitive climbing fled South Korea on Tuesday (local time) after taking part in an event where she climbed without wearing the customary hijab of her country.
She may have been compelled to leave early by Iranian officials, according to Farsi-language media from outside Iran, which Tehran swiftly disputed.
The decision by Elnaz Rekabi, a multiple medalist in competitions, to forgo the headscarf, or hijab, came as protests sparked by the September 16 death in custody of a 22-year-old woman have entered a fifth week. The nation’s morality police detained Mahsa Amini because of her attire.
The protests, which brought school-age children, oil employees, and others to the streets, pose the most significant threat to Iran’s theocracy since the widespread rallies that followed its contentious 2009 presidential election.
According to the Iranian Embassy in South Korea, Rekabi took a flight out of Seoul on Tuesday AM (local time).
Iranian authorities reportedly took Rekabi’s passport and cell phone, according to an anonymous “informed source” who was cited by the BBC’s Persian service, which has strong connections inside Iran despite being forbidden from doing business there.
She was initially due to return on Wednesday (local time), according to BBC Persian, but her flight allegedly was abruptly changed.
Rekabi, according to IranWire, a different website dedicated to the nation run by Iranian-Canadian journalist Maziar Bahari, who was formerly imprisoned by Iran, will be sent to Tehran’s renowned Evin Prison as soon as he arrived.
This past weekend, a large fire at Evin Prison claimed the lives of at least eight inmates.
In a tweet, the Iranian Embassy in Seoul denied “all the fake, false news and disinformation” regarding Rekabi’s departure on Tuesday (local time).
However, it put a picture of her from a prior tournament in Moscow, where she also won a bronze medal, instead of one from the Seoul competition.
The Iranian Embassy in Seoul did not return calls.
According to the Korea Alpine Federation, the event’s Seoul-based organisers, Rekabi did not wear a headscarf at the Asia Championship final of the International Federation of Sport Climbing on Sunday.
Rekabi, according to federation representatives, covered her head during her first appearances in the seven-day climbing competition. Rekabi was a part of the 11-person Iranian delegation, which included eight athletes and three coaches, to the competition.
Federation officials said they were not initially aware of Rekabi competing without the hijab but looked into the case after receiving inquires about her.
They said there are no regulations dictating whether or not female competitors must wear headscarves. However, Iranian women who compete overseas while representing their country invariably don the headscarf.
Invoking privacy-related laws, the Justice Ministry of South Korea declined to confirm whether the Iranian athlete is still present in South Korea or has gone. The foreign ministry of South Korea stated that it has no remarks on the matter.
Rekabi, 33, has earned one silver and two bronze medals for her efforts by placing third three times in the Asian Championships.
Fear for Iranian female climber who competed uncovered
About Author
