There is a video on Twitter showing a bus in which Elnaz Rekabi is said to be. The bus leaves Tehran airport, hundreds applaud. The question remains: Where will Rekabi be taken now? And was she even on the bus?
Elnaz Rekabi, Iranian professional climber and meanwhile another symbol of the resistance against the terror regime in her homeland, is said to have landed in Tehran. Rekabi took part in a climbing competition in South Korea without wearing the headscarf, which is compulsory for women. The exact whereabouts of the athlete are still unclear. A video shows how a bus in which Rekabi is said to be leaving the airport grounds.
Other sources claim that shortly after the competition she was lured to the Iranian embassy in Seoul under a pretext, had to hand in her passport and mobile phone and was said to have been flown out to Iran a day before her team. She is said to have been taken to the notorious Evin prison immediately after landing.
The Iranian embassy in Seoul has categorically denied allegations that it was lured into the embassy. Rekabi and her team flew back to Tehran as planned on Tuesday, it said. If the fears of those wondering where Rekabi really is are correct, then Rekabi might as well not have been on the minibus escorted to applause by hundreds of Iranians at Tehran airport this morning.
Düzen Tekkal, journalist, activist and one of those who point out the abuses in Iran day and night, writes about a video: "Look at the courage of these people. Despite more than 240 demonstrators being killed, the Iranians came to the airport to greet their heroine What will happen to Elnaz is unclear. But it will not be negotiated in camera. We are their protector. We are their voice. We are their sonic amplifier. So let's keep loud, raise our voices , look and protect. Not only for Elnaz but for EVERYONE!"
Hours before Rekabi's estimated arrival in Iran, a text could be read on her Instagram profile that is apparently intended to represent an official distancing and apology for her appearance without a headscarf: Due to "inappropriate timing and an unforeseeable call to climb" she unintentionally wore the headscarf not worn, it said. "Currently, I'm on my way to Iran with the team, according to the previously agreed schedule." The Tasnim news agency, which is considered the mouthpiece of the Revolutionary Guards, also referred to their post. After her return, she wants to hold a press conference with her brother.
This procedure of "denials" is known from other cases in which the Iranian regime used reprisals against dissidents and protesters: They are forced to confess, usually by threatening that something will happen to them or their families. This is likely to be the case with Elnaz Rekabi: Her husband lives in Iran - which is certainly one reason why she has not applied for asylum in South Korea. Observers interpret the apology as a forced statement. The Iranian authorities regularly put pressure on activists at home and abroad. Similar apologies are also being broadcast on state television, which human rights groups have criticized as forced confessions.
The EU imposed sanctions on the Iranian moral police and more than a dozen other people and organizations on Monday. Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock made it clear on the fringes of EU consultations in Luxembourg that it was a matter of naming those "who are responsible for the fact that people, especially women, who did nothing but fight for their rights" died. At least 122 people have already been killed in protests in Iran, according to the Norway-based group Iran Human Rights.
Observers expect Rekabis to be excluded from the national team and be banned from leaving the country. According to "IranWire", the 33-year-old is said to have planned long before the competition in Seoul to take part in the Asian Championships in South Korea with her hair loose. A person close to Rekabi confirmed that the athlete had already decided a month ago to compete without a headscarf as a gesture of solidarity with the freedom movement.
Wearing a headscarf is mandatory for female athletes representing Iran abroad. The video, which shows her running up the climbing wall with her hair down, went viral on the internet. Rekabi told the "Süddeutsche Zeitung" in 2015 that she "loves climbing far too much, it gave me self-confidence. It's not just a sport for me."
