After taking part in the Asian Championships in Seoul, professional climber Rekabi has returned to Tehran. Does she have to fear repression there because she violated the mullah regime’s requirement to wear a headscarf in the final? No, say Iranian officials.
Iranian representatives have assured the International Olympic Committee and the world association IFSC that the sport climber Elnaz Rekabi has “no consequences” to fear after her performance in Seoul. This was announced by the IOC after a meeting with Iran’s National Olympic Committee (NOC). According to information from the NOK, Rekabi has now returned to Iran and is with her family in Tehran. You can continue to train and participate in competitions, it said.
Critics had previously expressed great concern about Rekabi’s safety. Rekabi took off the headscarf that is mandatory for Iranian athletes in the final of the Asian Championships in Seoul. This was seen as a sign of their solidarity with the women’s movement in Iran and the protests against compulsory headscarves.
According to the IOC, after the meeting in Seoul there was a telephone conversation with Elnaz Rekabi. “The IOC will continue to monitor the situation closely over the coming days and weeks in coordination with the IFSC and the Iranian NOC,” the statement said.
The interest group Athleten Deutschland demanded that the IOC and world sport should impose sanctions on Iran, as stated in a statement. This also means that the world football association FIFA must “act consistently and consider Iran’s exclusion from the World Cup”. Athletes’ human rights have long been trampled on in Iran. The IOC and the international associations had tolerated such human rights violations for years, it said.
“The world association and the IOC must now do everything in their power to ensure Rekabi’s protection and freedom,” said Johannes Herber, managing director of the association. “At the latest the cruel execution of the wrestler Navid Afkari two years ago made it clear that the Iranian regime also makes examples of athletes. Since then we have been demanding Iran’s exclusion from world sport.”
According to Athletes Germany, sanctions should be directed against the political leadership and the national associations. Athletes from the country should continue to be allowed to start under a neutral flag if possible.
