Where is Iranian Elnaz Rekabi?
Iranian sports climber Elnaz Rekabi without hijab at the Asian Climbing Championships in Seoul (South Korea), October 16, 2022. AFP - RHEA KANG
Text by: RFI Follow
1 min
The question is taken up on many social networks this Tuesday, October 18.
Images of the Iranian climber had been circulating since Sunday, the day of the Asian Climbing Championships competition in Seoul.
She had participated bareheaded, a sign of hope and courage.
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The last news from Elnaz Rekabi dates back to yesterday, Monday October 17th.
The young woman then said she was with the Iranian authorities.
Today, the Iranian Embassy in South Korea, where the competition was taking place, said in a statement that she had flown back to Tehran.
For its part, the international climbing federation said to be attentive and to monitor the evolution of the situation upon the arrival of the Iranian sportswoman in Tehran.
IFSC Official Statement on Elnaz Rekabi.
🔗 https://t.co/EZlZN3SPcd#IFSC #SportClimbing pic.twitter.com/PFCO6bYT5h
— International Federation of Sport Climbing (@ifsclimbing) October 18, 2022
The relatives of the young woman fear that she will be directly transferred to detention.
This Sunday, October 16, she has indeed defied the law of the Islamic Republic which requires sportswomen of national federations to wear the veil.
It was thus images of hope and courage of an Iranian woman climbing a wall with her hair hanging in the air that made the young woman known outside the world of climbing.
She then became the first Iranian sportswoman to dare to compete in the colors of her country without a veil.
Two years ago, participating in the world chess championship as a referee, the Iranian Shohreh Bayat appeared with a veil sometimes on her head, sometimes falling on her shoulders.
That was enough for death threats to push her into exile in Great Britain.
She then said that she feared that the authorities would want to make her an example to dissuade other sportswomen from following the same path.
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To read also: Iran: a month of protest and deadly repression
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