| Iran’s El Naz Rekabi competes without a hijab during a sport climbing event in Seoul on the 16th. Twitter video capture |
British media are reporting claims of a missing Iranian climber
Iran’s embassy in South Korea refutes “fake news and fake information”
Recently, foreign media reported that an Iranian female climber who competed without a hijab at the 2022 International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) Asian Championships held in Seoul has been lost contact after the incident. The Iranian side objected that the player was moving to Iran with other members, calling it “fake news”.
According to the British Daily The Telegraph on the 18th, citing a report by BBC Persia, El Naz Rekabi (33) from Iran has been out of touch since the 16th and his passport and mobile phone appear to have been confiscated . Previously, the ‘Seoul IFSC 2022 Asian Sport Climbing Championship’, where the best Asian sport climbing athletes participated, was held from the 10th to the 16th at Jamwon Hangang Park Sports Climbing Stadium in Seoul. Reccabi finished 4th overall in this competition.
However, according to the BBC report, Rekkabi did not wear a hijab in one of the competitions. Earlier, in Iran, on the 13th of last month, when a 22-year-old woman, Mahsa Amini, who was being investigated by the police for wearing a hijab, was interrogated to death, accumulated dissatisfaction with the Iranian government has exploded.
BBC World Service Iran’s Rana Rahimpur tweeted: “We found out that[Rekkabi]boarded a flight to Tehran two days earlier than expected. Iran Wire, an Iranian anti-government online media outlet, also quoted a source as saying that Rekkabi was sent to Tehran through the Iranian embassy in Seoul.
However, the Iranian embassy in South Korea tweeted, “Mr. Rekabi left for Iran from Seoul with other team members early on the morning of the 18th. Said Mr. The Iranian embassy also posted a picture of Rekhabi wearing a hijab on her head.
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| A photo posted by the Iranian embassy in South Korea on Twitter, denying news of the disappearance of sports climbing athlete El Naz Rekabi. Catch Twitter |
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| Record by El Naz Rekabi from Iran, who participated in the Sport Climbing Competition held in Seoul on the 10th and 16th. Grab the International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) website. |
In addition, the Iranian embassy in Korea issued a press release and denied the report outright. The embassy said, “El Naz Rekkabi, who participated in the International Sports Climbing Federation (IFSC) Asian Championships held in Seoul, left for Iran from Seoul early in the morning on the 18th with other team members.” “The Iranian embassy in South Korea strongly denies all fake news and distortion related to Rekabi,” he said.
On the 18th, on Rekabi’s Instagram account, an article was posted saying, “It was my carelessness that raised the hijab problem at the Asian Championships.” The post also included the content “I am currently on my way home with my fellow members as per the scheduled schedule.”
Reporter Park Joon-hee
