The Tehran government denied on Tuesday that the Iranian athlete Elnaz Rekabi had been detained and forced to return to Iran, after participating in the Asian climbing championship without a veil, in South Korea.
After wearing a hijab, the traditional Muslim veil that covers the head and shoulders, in the first heats of the championship, Rekabi, 33, competed with her hair down in the final, which took place on Sunday in the South Korean capital, Seoul. . she having won the bronze medal.
The athlete’s gesture was seen as a show of support for Iranian women who have been protesting for a month against the mandatory hijab following the death of Mahsa Amini.
The 23-year-old Kurdish woman died three days after being arrested by the Tehran morality police for violating the strict code on the use of women’s clothing provided for in the laws of the Islamic Republic, in particular the use of the veil.
Elnaz Rekabi left Seoul on a flight to Tehran on Tuesday morning, the Iranian embassy in South Korea reported on Twitter.
The BBC’s Farsi service said Iranian authorities had confiscated 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 that upon arrival, the athlete would be transferred immediately to Evin prison, where political prisoners are held.
The Iranian embassy in Seoul on Tuesday denied what it called “fake news and misinformation” about Rekabi’s departure, after posting an image of the veiled athlete at an earlier competition in Moscow.
According to the Iranian group Iran Human Rights, based in Oslo, 122 people were killed during the crackdown on the demonstrations.
Last Friday, Amnesty International mourned the death of at least 23 children “killed by Iranian security forces”.
Source: TSF
