The Iranian athlete Elnaz Rekabi (33) has reportedly been missing since she participated in the international climbing championship in Seoul in South Korea on Sunday, according to the Persian BBC. A well-informed source tells the BBC that her friends have not been in contact with her since then. Rekabi climbed without a hijab, and the image of the competition was widely shared on social media, writes the broadcaster. – The courage Elenaz showed yesterday will inspire millions of Iranian girls. This is according to the head of Norwegian Iran Human Rights, Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, who himself grew up in Iran. Iranian Elnaz Rekabi disappeared after an international climbing competition in South Korea He says The Islamic Republic of Iran depends on people fearing them, so that they will not break rules and laws. That is the reason why the hijab is so central, he says. – That is why they do everything they can to at least save as much of their authority as possible. In addition, it will set an example for other athletes, and all girls in Iran, he says. Apologizes On Tuesday morning, a new story was shared on Rekabi’s Instagram, in which she apparently apologizes for having caused unrest among people. The image has a black background and white text. – During the final of the Asian championship, due to bad timing and an urgent call to climb, I had the wrong clothing, the story says. She concludes by saying that she is on her way back to Iran together with the national team as planned. It is uncertain whether it is Rekabi herself who has written the post, whether it is someone else or whether she may have been pressured to write it. When the Iranian soccer player Sardar Azmoun (27) shared criticism of the Iranian regime on Instagram, it did not take long before his post was deleted. Several people are concerned, the BBC writes that they have been in contact with the hotel the Iranian team stayed at in Seoul. According to the hotel, the team checked out on Monday morning. According to the plan, the team was to return to Iran on Wednesday. On Tuesday morning, BBC anchor Rana Rahimpour tweeted that Rekabi was on the flight back to Tehran two days ahead of schedule. – There are concerns about her safety, writes Rahimpour. The International Sports Climbing Federation (IFSC) has published a statement on its own website where they write that there is a lot of information about the incident, and that they are trying to establish the facts. – Our understanding is that she is on her way back to Iran, and we will continue to monitor developments upon her arrival, the association wrote. – The IFSC fully supports the rights of the athletes, their choice and freedom of expression. The Iranian embassy wrote on Twitter that Rekabi and the rest of the team traveled back to Iran early Tuesday morning. The embassy strongly rejects what they call “the fake news and misinformation” about Rekabi. Iranian dress code imposed Last year, Rekabi became the first Iranian woman to win a medal in an international climbing championship, writes The Guardian. This time she got fourth place. Few female athletes from Iran have competed without covering their hair, as required by law by Iranian authorities. The garment must also cover both arms and legs. In 2019, the Iranian boxer Sadaf Khadem won a fight in France, where she was naked and dressed in shorts. After the match, Iranian authorities issued an arrest warrant for him, and Khadem decided to stay in France, The Guardian wrote in 2019. Big protests The Iranian athlete’s disappearance comes at the same time as there are big protests in Iran after Mahsa Amani (22) died in the custody of the morality police. She is said to have been arrested for wearing her hijab the wrong way. The protests broke out on 16 September, the same day that Amani died. According to the human rights group Iran Human Rights (IHR) in Oslo, at least 215 people have been killed during the protests in Iran. The American human rights organization HRANA estimates that 222 people have been killed in or after the demonstrations. Of them, 26 will be children, and the youngest victims will be 12 years old, the organization claims.
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Iranian Elnaz Rekabi is said to be missing after climbing without a hijab in Seoul – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
