Iranian competitive climber Elnaz Rekabi has received a hero’s welcome on her return to Tehran, after competing in South Korea without wearing a mandatory headscarf required of female athletes from the Islamic Republic.
Speaking to state television, Ms Rekabi repeated an explanation posted earlier to an Instagram account in her name that described her not wearing a hijab as “unintentional”.
Ms Rekabi competed on Sunday without the hijab as protests sparked by the death in custody of a 22-year-old woman entered a fifth week.
Mahsa Amini was detained by the country’s morality police over her clothing — and her death has seen women removing their mandatory hijabs in public in protest.
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The demonstrations, drawing school-age children, oil workers and others to the street in more than 100 cities, represent the most-serious challenge to Iran’s theocracy since the mass protests surrounding its disputed 2009 presidential election.
Supporters and Farsi-language media outside of Iran have worried about Ms Rekabi’s safety after she competed without the hijab.
On Wednesday, Ms Rekabi repeated an explanation posted earlier to an Instagram account in her name that described her not wearing a hijab as “unintentional”.
The Iranian government routinely pressures activists at home and abroad, often airing what rights group describe as coerced confessions on state television — the same cameras she addressed on her arrival back home.
Video shared online showed large crowds gathered early on Wednesday at Imam Khomeini International Airport outside of Tehran, the sanctioned nation’s main gateway out of the country.
The videos, corresponding to known features of the airport, showed crowds chanting the 33-year-old Ms Rekabi’s name and calling her a hero.
She walked into one of the airport’s terminals, filmed by state media and wearing a black baseball cap and a black hoodie covering her hair.
She received flowers from an onlooker, and then repeated what had been posted on Instagram that not wearing the hijab was “unintentional” and her travel had been as previously planned.
Ms Rekabi described being in a women’s-only waiting area before her climb. She said: “Because I was busy putting on my shoes and my gear, it caused me to forget to put on my hijab and then I went to compete.”
She added: “I came back to Iran with peace of mind although I had a lot of tension and stress. But so far, thank God, nothing has happened.”
Outside, she apparently entered a van and slowly was driven through the gathered crowd, who cheered her. It was not clear where she went after that.
Ms Rekabi left Seoul on a Tuesday morning flight. The BBC’s Persian service, which has extensive contacts within Iran despite being banned from operating there, quoted an unnamed “informed source” who described Iranian officials as seizing Ms Rekabi’s mobile phone and passport.
BBC Persian also said she initially had been scheduled to return on Wednesday, but her flight was moved up unexpectedly.
IranWire, another website focusing on the country founded by Iranian-Canadian journalist Maziar Bahari who once was detained by Iran, alleged that Ms Rekabi would be immediately transferred to Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison after arriving in the country. Evin Prison was the site of a large fire this past weekend that killed at least eight prisoners.
In a tweet, the Iranian Embassy in Seoul denied “all the fake, false news and disinformation” regarding Rekabi’s departure. But instead of posting a photograph of her from the Seoul competition, it posted an image of her wearing a headscarf at a previous competition in Moscow, where she took a bronze medal.
Ms Rekabi did not put on a hijab during Sunday’s final at the International Federation of Sport Climbing’s Asia Championship, where she finished in fourth place.
The athlete wore a hijab during her initial appearances at the one-week climbing event. She wore just a black headband when competing on Sunday, with her hair pulled back in a ponytail; she had a white jersey with Iran’s flag as a logo on it.
Footage of the competition showed Ms Rekabi relaxed as she approached the climbing and after she competed.
Iranian women competing abroad under the Iranian flag always wear the hijab.
The International Federation of Sport Climbing, which oversaw the event, said in a statement: “Our understanding is that she is returning to Iran, and we will continue to monitor the situation as it develops on her arrival.
“It is important to stress that athletes’ safety is paramount for us and we support any efforts to keep a valued member of our community safe in this situation.”
On Wednesday, a small group of protesters demonstrated in front of Iran’s Embassy in Seoul, with some women cutting off locks of their hair as others have in demonstrations worldwide since Ms Amini’s death.
So far, human rights groups estimate that more than 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 more than 100 cities, according to the group Human Rights Activists in Iran. Thousands are believed to have been arrested.