Status: 10/22/2022 11:59 am
Iranian climber Elnaz Rekabi caused a stir in the final of the Asian Championships by competing without a headscarf. She is now back in Iran – and, according to a media report, is no longer allowed to leave her house.
Iranian sport climber Elnaz Rekabi is apparently under house arrest. The broadcaster BBC Persian reports, citing a well-informed source.
Iranian authorities rejected this. Rekabi stays at home because she “needs rest”. According to the National Olympic Committee (NOC) of Iran, the athlete is allowed to continue training and participate in competitions. Representatives told the International Olympic Committee (IOC) that she had “no consequences to fear”. Critics had previously expressed great concern about Rekabi’s safety.
Athlete initially disappeared without a trace
Rekabi took off the headscarf that is mandatory for Iranian athletes in the final of the Asian championship in Seoul. This was seen as a sign of their solidarity with the women’s movement in Iran and the protests against compulsory headscarves.
Rekabi initially disappeared without a trace after her performance in Seoul. According to media reports, her team left the hotel on Monday morning, but what happened to her was not known. Rekabi’s passport and mobile phone are said to have been confiscated, and there was also talk of an arrest in the media.
Enthusiastic reception in Tehran
The Iranian embassy in Seoul categorically rejected these reports at the time. Rekabi and her team would fly back to Tehran as planned on Tuesday, it was said at the time.
In fact, Rekabi returned to Tehran on Wednesday. A large crowd gave her an enthusiastic welcome at Imam Khomeini International Airport, video footage circulating online showed. You could hear people chanting Rekabi’s name and celebrating her as a heroine.
Rekabi apologized
In an Instagram story from an account attributed to Rekabi, the athlete apologized for not wearing a headscarf. “Due to an inappropriate timing and an unforeseeable call to climb” she unintentionally did not wear the headscarf. But footage from the Seoul event showed her relaxed before she climbed. They are going back to Iran in accordance with previous plans, it said.
It is unclear whether Rekabi himself wrote the post and if so, under what circumstances. In a TV interview at the airport, the athlete repeated statements from the Instagram post that she accidentally forgot her hijab.
Observers interpret the apologies as a forced statement. The Iranian authorities regularly exert pressure. Persian-language media also reported that Rekabi’s brother had been arrested.