Fears mount for missing Iranian climber who competed without hijab in Seoul
Elnaz Rekabi and team flew back to Tehran early; report says athlete’s passport, phone confiscated; unsourced opposition report alleges she’ll be taken to notorious Evin Prison
There were growing concerns on Tuesday for the safety of an Iranian climber who went missing after she competed in an international tournament in South Korea without a headscarf.
Friends of Elnaz Rekabi told the BBC’s Persian news service that they had been unable to contact the athlete since Sunday, as footage circulated widely online of the climber participating in the Asian Championships in Seoul without a hijab.
Individuals referred to as “well-informed sources” told the BBC Persian service that Rekabi’s passport and cellphone had been confiscated.
The outlet said the Iranian team, including Rekabi, left its hotel in Seoul earlier than planned, and had already flown back to Iran.
Rekabi left Seoul on a Tuesday morning flight, the Iranian Embassy in South Korea confirmed.
Persian-language media outlets outside of Iran warned that Rekabi could face arrest back home, a claim Tehran quickly denied.
Iranian climber Elnaz Rekabi in international competition appears without wearing a hijab, in open defiance of the regime’s requirements for women. pic.twitter.com/pPpzZ6Fvhs
— Frida Ghitis (@FridaGhitis) October 16, 2022
A later Instagram post on an account attributed to Rekabi described her not wearing a hijab as “unintentional,” though it wasn’t immediately clear whether she wrote the post or what condition she was in at the time.
The post, written in the first person, offered an apology on Rekabi’s behalf. It blamed a sudden call for her to climb the wall in the competition — although footage of the competition showed Rekabi relaxed as she approached and after she competed.
It also sought to describe her travel back to Iran on Tuesday as being “on schedule.”
“I firstly apologize for all the concerns I have caused,” the statement said.
Due to the timing and sudden call to begin the climb “my hijab unintentionally became problematic,” the post said.
The Iranian government routinely pressures activists at home and abroad, often airing what rights group describe as coerced confessions on state television.
IranWire, a website founded by Iranian-Canadian journalist Maziar Bahari who once was detained by Iran, has alleged that Rekabi would be immediately transferred to Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison after arriving in the country.
The report said Rekabi was tricked into entering the Iranian Embassy in Seoul with a promise of safe passage back to Tehran. The report said the operation was overseen by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps.
Evin Prison was the site of a massive fire and clashes this weekend that killed at least eight prisoners. Gunshots and explosions were heard during the dramatic blaze from inside the complex, according to social media footage.
Hundreds of protesters arrested in Iran in recent weeks have been sent to Evin, joining thousands of existing inmates who range from criminal convicts to political prisoners and foreigners.
In a tweet, the Iranian Embassy in Seoul denied “all the fake, false news and disinformation” regarding Rekabi’s departure from South Korea.
But instead of posting a photo of her from the Seoul competition, it posted an image of her wearing a headscarf at a previous competition in Moscow, where she also took a bronze medal.
Ms. Elnaz REKABI, departed from Seoul to Iran, early morning of October 18, 2022, along with the other members of the Team.
The Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in South Korea strongly denies all the fake, false news and disinformation regarding Ms. Elnaz REKABI. pic.twitter.com/053pFWs96m— Iran embassy in Seoul (@IraninSKorea) October 18, 2022
Calls to the Iranian Embassy in Seoul were unanswered Tuesday.
South Korea’s Justice Ministry refused to confirm whether the Iranian athlete was still in South Korea or had left the country, citing privacy-related regulations. South Korea’s Foreign Ministry said it had no comments on the issue.
Rekabi, 33, has finished on the podium three times in the Asian Championships, taking one silver and two bronze medals for her efforts.
The athlete didn’t put on a hijab during Sunday’s final at the International Federation of Sport Climbing’s Asia Championship.
She instead wore just a black headband when competing, with her hair pulled back in a ponytail; she had a white jersey with Iran’s flag as a logo on it.
Officials from the Seoul-based Korea Alpine Federation, the organizers of the event, said Rekabi wore a hijab during her initial appearances at the one-week climbing event.
Rekabi was a member of Iran’s 11-member delegation, which comprised eight athletes and three coaches, according to the federation.
Federation officials said they were not initially aware of Rekabi competing without the hijab but had looked into the case after receiving inquires about her.
They said the event doesn’t have any rules on requiring female athletes to wear or not wear headscarves. However, Iranian women competing abroad under the Iranian flag always wear the hijab.
Rekabi is believed to be the second Iranian woman to have appeared in competition without a headscarf after boxer Sadaf Khadem appeared bare-headed in a bout in France in 2019. Khadem did not return to Iran and now lives in exile in France.
Sport has become a hugely sensitive arena during the protests, with several prominent Iranian female athletes expressing support for women’s rights.
Famous male soccer stars have also been caught up in the crackdown with former international player Hossein Mahini arrested and the world’s ex-top scorer Ali Daei having his passport confiscated. Daei’s document was returned while Mahini was reportedly freed on bail.
Iran’s Fars news agency, which reflects hardline views, published an editorial Tuesday critical of Rekabi but avoided mentioning her by name.
It asked why “Western, Zionist and Saudi” media had not paid attention to victories by Iranian women wearing headscarves in the last days in athletics and weightlifting but instead “highlighted the performance of a girl with unconventional behavior.”
The decision by Rekabi, a multiple medalist in competitions, to forgo the headscarf, or hijab, came as protests sparked by the September 16 death in custody of a 22-year-old woman have entered a fifth week. Mahsa Amini was detained by the country’s so-called “morality police” over her clothing.
The demonstrations, drawing school-age children, students, oil workers and others to the street, represent the most serious challenge to Iran’s theocracy since the mass protests surrounding its disputed 2009 presidential election.
So far, human rights groups estimate that over 200 people have been killed in the protests and the violent security force crackdown that followed. Iran has not offered a death toll in weeks. Demonstrations have been seen in over 100 cities, according to the group Human Rights Activists in Iran. Thousands are believed to have been arrested.
More than 40 human rights groups, including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and IHR, in a joint statement Monday condemned Iran’s “mobilization of their well-honed machinery of repression to ruthlessly crack down” on the nationwide protests.
