Tehran’s government denied on Tuesday that Iranian athlete Elnaz Rekabi was detained and forced to return to Iran after participating in South Korea’s Asian Climbing Without Veil Championship.
After wearing a hijab, the traditional Muslim veil that covers the head and shoulders, in the first qualifiers of the championship, 33-year-old Rekabi competed hair-down in the final, which took place in South Korea’s South Korea on Sunday. capital Seoul. won the bronze medal.
The athlete’s gesture was seen as an expression of support for Iranian women who have been protesting for a month against the mandatory wearing of the hijab after the death of Mahsa Amini.
The 23-year-old Kurdish girl died three days after she was arrested by the vice squad in Tehran for violating the strict code for the use of women’s clothing under the laws of the Islamic Republic, especially the use of the veil.
Elnaz Rekabi left Seoul this morning on a flight to Tehran, the Iranian embassy in South Korea said on the social network Twitter.
خانم الناز رکابی از پایان مسابقات سنگ قهرمانی آسیا آسیا در بامداد روز سه 26 مهر 1401 به همراه سایر از به مقصد ایران حرکت کرد. جمهوری اسلامی در کره کره تمامی اخبار جعلی ، کذب اطلاعات در خصوص رکابی را قویا می کند کند. pic.twitter.com/6RvIdhDUkH
– Iran Embassy in Seoul (@IraninSKorea) October 18, 2022
The BBC’s Farsi language service said Iranian authorities seized Rekabi’s mobile phone and passport, citing unnamed sources.
Also Citing unnamed sources, the IranWire news portal, founded by Iranian-Canadian journalist Maziar Bahari, said the athlete would be immediately transferred to Evin Prison, where political prisoners are held, upon arrival.
The Iranian embassy in Seoul today denied what it called “fake news and misinformation” about Rekabi’s departure, after it published an image of the athlete wearing a veil during a previous match in Moscow.
According to the Iranian group Iran Human Rights, based in Oslo, 122 people have been killed during the repression of the demonstrations.
Last Friday, Amnesty International mourned the deaths of at least 23 children “killed by Iranian security forces”.
Source: DN
