The Iranian embassy in South Korea said on Tuesday that Elnaz Rekabithe climber who competed without a veil in Seoul this weekend is traveling to Tehran and has denied reports that she has disappeared or been detained.
Some sources pointed out that the climber would have been arrested by the Iranian regime after participating on Sunday without a hijab in the asian championship of his discipline in South Korea, as a show of support for the protests that are shaking the country over the death of the young Mahsa Amini.
The Persian-language BBC channel has reported that a source close to the climber has indicated that they have not been able to contact Rekabi since Sunday night. In addition, the authorities would have seized the athlete’s passport and telephone number.
“Ms. Elnaz Rekabi, who participated in the final round of the Asian Climbing Championships, left Seoul for Iran early today, October 18, 2022, along with other members of her team,” said the diplomatic legation it’s a statement.
Rekabi would have been transferred directly to the Khomeini International Airport –two days before the scheduled date on Wednesday– to take her to Tehran’s Evin prison on the order of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Intelligence Organization, according to the Iran Wire news portal.
The aforementioned media indicates that Rejabi would have entered the building of the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Seoul with the promise that they would take her back to her country without any security problems.
The authorities would have also retained the athlete’s brother, David Rekabiwho was contacted by the intelligence services of the Revolutionary Guards, as reported by Iran Wire.
The mobilizations for the death of the young Mahsa Amini have left more than 200 dead in the country, according to the non-governmental organization Iran Human Rights, while Tehran has accused the United States and other Western countries of fueling the demonstrations.
The climber’s gesture has been seen as a brave show of support for the women of her country who have been protesting for weeks against the obligation to wear the veil after the death in September of the young Mahsa Amini in a police station where she was taken for wearing the headscarf inappropriately.