Iranian sport climber Elnaz Rekabi sent home, fate uncertain after competing without a headscarf | CBC News

An Iranian competitive climber left South Korea on Tuesday after participating in an event where she climbed without her country’s mandatory headscarf covering, authorities said. Farsi-language media outside Iran warned that she may have been forced to leave early by Iranian officials and could potentially be arrested at home, which Tehran was quick to deny.

Elnaz Rekabi’s decision to forgo the headscarf or hijab came as protests sparked by the death of a 22-year-old woman in custody on September 16 entered their fifth week. Mahsa Amini was arrested by the country’s vice squad because of her clothing.

The demonstrations, which have seen school-age children, oil workers and others take to the streets in over 100 cities, pose the most serious challenge to Iran’s theocracy since mass protests surrounding the disputed 2009 presidential election.

A later Instagram post on an account attributed to Rekabi, a multiple medalist at competitions, described her as “unintentionally” not wearing a hijab, although it wasn’t immediately clear if she wrote the post or in which one ​state she was in at that time.

Rekabi left Seoul on a Tuesday morning flight, the Iranian embassy in South Korea said.

The BBC’s Persian service, which has extensive contacts inside Iran despite an operating ban, quoted an unnamed “informed source” as describing how Iranian officials confiscated both Rekabi’s mobile phone and passport.

CLOCK | Anger at the regime not seen in years: human rights activist:

BBC Persian also said it was originally scheduled for Wednesday but its flight appears to have been unexpectedly brought forward.

IranWire, another website focused on the country founded by Iranian-Canadian journalist Maziar Bahari, who was once arrested by Iran, claimed that upon arrival in the country, Rekabi would be immediately transferred to Tehran’s notorious Evin prison . Evin Prison was the scene of a major fire this weekend that killed at least eight prisoners.

Later on Tuesday, South Korea’s foreign ministry confirmed that the Iranian athlete and her team had left the country, without elaborating.

Sorry in the Instagram post

In a tweet, the Iranian embassy in Seoul denied “all fake, false news and disinformation” about Rekabi’s departure on Tuesday. But instead of posting a photo of her from the Seoul competition, a picture of her wearing a headscarf was posted at a previous competition in Moscow, where she won a bronze medal.

According to the Seoul-based Korea Alpine Federation, organizers of the event, Rekabi did not wear a hijab during Sunday’s final at the International Federation of Sport Climbing Asian Championships.

Federation officials said Rekabi wore a hijab in her first appearances at the week-long climbing event. She wore just a black headband on Sunday, her dark hair pulled back in a ponytail; she wore a white jersey with the Iranian flag as a logo on it.

The Instagram post, later written in the first person, offered an apology on Rekabi’s behalf. The Post blamed a sudden call for her to scale the wall in the competition – although footage of the competition showed Rekabi relaxed as she approached and after she competed. It also tried to describe their return trip to Iran Tuesday as “on schedule.”

According to the association, Rekabi was part of the eleven-strong Iranian delegation, which consisted of eight athletes and three coaches.

Federation officials said they were initially unaware that Rekabi had competed without a headscarf but looked into the case after receiving inquiries about her. They said the event has no rules requiring female athletes to wear or not wear headscarves. However, Iranian women who compete abroad under the Iranian flag always wear the hijab.

“It is our understanding that she is returning to Iran and we will continue to monitor the evolution of the situation upon her arrival,” the International Federation of Sport Climbing, which oversaw the event, said in a statement. “It is important to emphasize that athlete safety is of the utmost importance to us and we support all efforts to protect a valued member of our community in this situation.”

The association said it had been in contact with both Rekabi and Iranian officials, but declined to elaborate on the content of those calls when reached by The Associated Press. The association also declined to discuss the Instagram post attributed to Rekabi and the claims it contained.

Hundreds killed in protests

Rekabi, 33, has stood on the podium three times at the Asian Championships, winning a silver and two bronze medals for her efforts.

So far, human rights groups estimate that more than 200 people have been killed in the protests and the subsequent crackdown by the security forces. Iran has not offered a death toll in weeks. According to the Human Rights Activists group in Iran, demonstrations were observed in over 100 cities. Thousands are said to have been arrested.

However, gathering information about the demonstrations remains difficult. Internet access has been interrupted by the Iranian government for weeks. According to the Committee for the Protection of Journalists, the authorities have now arrested at least 40 journalists.

Iranian officials, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, have repeatedly claimed that the country’s foreign enemies are behind the ongoing demonstrations, rather than Iranians angry at Amini’s death and the country’s other woes.

Iranians have seen their life savings evaporate; the country’s currency, the rial, plummets; and Tehran’s nuclear deal with world powers was left in tatters.