He took advantage of his participation in the Asian Games to show his support for the protests over the death of young Mahsa Amini, although he now claims it was because he was “confused” with the “technical equipment”.
A crowd welcomed Iranian climber Elnaz Rekabi at Tehran airport on Wednesday after the athlete competed without a veil in South Korea, local media reported.
Rekabi competed bareheaded in a championship in Seoul on Sunday. This gesture was interpreted by some as a show of solidarity with the protest movement that has been shaking Iran for a month, following the death of Mahsa Amini, a young woman detained in Tehran by vice squad because her veil supposedly showed some locks of hair.
The Islamic Republic requires Iranian sportswomen to wear a headscarf, even when competing abroad.
Rekabi, 33, arrived at Imam Khomeini International Airport early Wednesday, according to a video released by state agency IRNA. Dozens of people gathered to greet her, with cheers and applause as she walked out the doors, according to a video posted online by the reformist newspaper Shargh. The athlete appeared in a hood and a baseball cap and was received by her family and then addressed the state media.
“The atmosphere that prevailed in the final of the competition and the fact that I was called up unexpectedly made me confused with my technical equipment and that made me forget about the hijab,” she said. “I return to Iran in peace, in perfect health and according to my plans. I apologize to the people of Iran for the tensions this has caused,” he said, adding that he had no intention of leaving the national team.
These comments are in line with the post posted on her Instagram account on Tuesday, in which she apologized for “any concern” it may have caused and said the decision to remove her veil “wasn’t intentional,” but because she was called to compete ahead of schedule.
Human rights groups expressed concern about her situation following complaints from her friends who said they had not been able to contact her. However, in a statement to AFP, the Iranian embassy in Seoul denied “false information and misinformation” about his situation.
Source: La Verdad
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