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Worry grows for Iran athlete who competed without her hijab

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SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — An Iranian competitive climber left South Korea on Tuesday after competing at an event in which she climbed without her nation’s mandatory headscarf covering, authorities said. Farsi-language media outside of Iran warned she may have been forced to leave early by Iranian officials and could face arrest back home, which Tehran quickly denied.

The decision by Elnaz Rekabi, a multiple medalist in competitions, to forgo the headscarf, or hijab, came as protests sparked by the Sept. 16 death in custody of a 22-year-old woman have entered a fifth week. Mahsa Amini was detained by the country’s morality police over her clothing.

The demonstrations, drawing school-age children, oil workers and others to the street in over 100 cities, represent the most-serious challenge to Iran’s theocracy since the mass protests surrounding its disputed 2009 presidential election.

A later Instagram post on an account attributed to Rekabi described her not wearing a hijab as “unintentional,” though it wasn’t immediately clear whether she wrote the post or what condition she was in at the time. The Iranian government routinely pressures activists at home and abroad, often airing what rights group describe as coerced confessions on state television.

Rekabi left Seoul on a Tuesday morning flight, the Iranian Embassy in South Korea said. 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 both Rekabi’s mobile phone and passport.

BBC Persian also said she initially had been scheduled to return on Wednesday, but her flight apparently had been 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 Rekabi would be immediately transferred to Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison after arriving in the country. Evin Prison was the site of a massive fire this 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 on Tuesday. But instead of posting a photo 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.

Calls to the Iranian Embassy in Seoul rang unanswered Tuesday.

Rekabi didn’t put on a hijab during Sunday’s final at the International Federation of Sport Climbing’s Asia Championship, according to the Seoul-based Korea Alpine Federation, the organizers of the event.

Federation officials said Rekabi wore a hijab during her initial appearances at the one-week climbing event. She wore just a black headband when competing Sunday, her dark hair pulled back in a ponytail; she had a white jersey with Iran’s flag as a logo on it.

The later Instagram post, written in the first person, offered an apology on Rekabi’s behalf. The post blamed a sudden call for her to climb the wall in the competition — although footage of the competition showed Rekabi relaxed as she approached and after she competed. It also sought to describe her travel back to Iran on Tuesday as being “on schedule.”

Rekabi was on Iran’s 11-member delegation, comprised of eight athletes and three coaches, to the event, according to the federation.

Federation officials said they were not initially aware of Rekabi competing without the hijab but looked into the case after receiving inquires about her. They said the event doesn’t have any rules on requiring female athletes wearing or not wearing headscarves. However, Iranian women competing abroad under the Iranian flag always wear the hijab.

“Our understanding is that she is returning to Iran, and we will continue to monitor the situation as it develops on her arrival,” the International Federation of Sport Climbing, which oversaw the event, said in a statement. “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.”

The federation said it had been in touch with both Rekabi and Iranian officials, but declined to elaborate on the substance of those calls when reached by The Associated Press. The federation also declined to discuss the Instagram post attributed to Rekabi and the claims in it.

Later Tuesday, South Korea’s Foreign Ministry acknowledged that the Iranian athlete and her team had left the country, without elaborating.

Rekabi, 33, has finished on the podium three times in the Asian Championships, taking one silver and two bronze medals for her efforts.

So far, human rights groups estimate that over 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 over 100 cities, according to the group Human Rights Activists in Iran. Thousands are believed to have been arrested.

Gathering information about the demonstrations remains difficult, however. Internet access has been disrupted for weeks by the Iranian government. Meanwhile, authorities have detained at least 40 journalists, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.

Iranian officials, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has repeatedly alleged the country’s foreign enemies are behind the ongoing demonstrations, rather than Iranians angered by Amini’s death and the country’s other woes.

Iranians have seen their life savings evaporate; the country’s currency, the rial, plummeted and Tehran’s nuclear deal with world powers has been reduced to tatters.

In a statement Tuesday, the office of the United Nations high commissioner for human rights called for the immediate release of all those “arbitrarily detained” in the protests. It also criticized the “unabated violent response by security forces” that has seen even children reportedly arrested and killed.

“The continued unnecessary and disproportionate use of force against protesters must stop,” the statement said. “Arresting people solely for exercising their rights of peaceful assembly and freedom of expression constitutes an arbitrary deprivation of liberty.”

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Olympic medallist calls for Nike boycott

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Sharron Davies says that the sportswear brand is showing ‘disdain’ for women

Sharron Davies, the former British Olympic swimmer and vocal critic of transgender athletes competing in women’s sports, has called for a boycott of sports apparel giant Nike following its partnership with transgender TikTok personality Dylan Mulvaney.

“Nobody really seems to be listening to the general public,” Davies said on Thursday to GB News. “And that’s what seems to be incredibly frustrating. So, the only way we can actually make these companies and make governments listen is to boycott with our wallets.”

Transgender social media personality Mulvaney – who has also partnered with Bud Light – was featured in Instagram images modelling Nike’s range of sports bras this week, clothing which Davies says “doesn’t apply” to Mulvaney, who has not yet had gender-reassignment surgery.

“It’s just this total disdain with which women are being treated at the moment,” Davies added, “Particularly in the world of sport where physiology makes so much difference.”

Mulvaney has so far not yet commented on the controversy. Anheuser-Busch, which owns Bud Light, said through a spokesperson that the brand “works with hundreds of influencers across our brands as one of the many ways to authentically connect with audiences across various demographics.”

IOC amends transgender guidelines

Transgender participation in sports has become a fiercely-debated issue amid a wave of legislative proposals in Republican-led states in the US which have sought to impose various restrictions on trans athletes’ abilities to participate in female sports.

Schools and colleges in the US, though, would be disallowed from imposing blanket bans on transgender athletes as part of a provision to existing gender-equity legislation proposed this week by the Biden administration.

Another former Olympic athlete, Caitlyn Jenner, who is transgender, has also joined in the chorus of backlash against Nike, whom she described as “woke” and said that “inclusivity” should not come at the expense of the majority of people.

Like Davies, Jenner has been a noted critic of transgender athletes competing in sports against biologically-born women. Jenner did note, however, that she has no issue with Mulvaney pursuing sponsorship deals, as she has done herself in the past.

Vivek Ramaswamy, the GOP presidential candidate noted for his opposition to so-called ‘wokeism,’ has also expressed his opposition to Nike’s deal with Mulvaney, calling it the “worst kind of woke capitalism.”

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IOC cannot be ‘political referee’ – president

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The International Olympic Committee has defended plans to include Russian and Belarusian athletes at the Paris 2024 Games

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) must not act as a “political referee,” according to its president, Thomas Bach. The organization has faced a backlash for its plans to reinstate Russian and Belarusian athletes to international competition ahead of the Paris Games in 2024.

Speaking at the Ruhr Political Festival in Essen, Germany on Wednesday, Bach said that the IOC must stay out of political disputes to preserve its power as a unifying force on the international stage.

“If politics decides who can take part in a competition, then sport and athletes become tools of politics,” Bach stated. “It is then impossible for sport to transfer its uniting power.”

However, he added that the IOC must be “politically neutral but not apolitical.”

The IOC imposed sporting sanctions against Russia and Belarus shortly after Moscow launched its military campaign in Ukraine last year. The measures were subsequently adopted by numerous other sporting federations across the globe, and severely restricted the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes in international competitions.

UK asks Olympic sponsors to ‘pressure’ IOC – media

Despite Bach stating earlier this year that he believes sanctions should continue against the governments of both Russia and Belarus, he has appeared open to allowing athletes from both countries back to Olympic competition under certain criteria, such as participating under a neutral flag and appearing in Asian-based qualification events ahead of the Paris Games next year.

Bach claimed on Wednesday that the current situation presents his organization with a “dilemma,” noting that Ukraine has demanded “the total isolation of all Russians” from global sport. He further stated that the IOC has a responsibility towards “human rights and the Olympic Charter” – and not towards the “total isolation of people with a specific passport.”

Elsewhere, Bach has faced resistance from the likes of the British government, amid reports earlier this month that it had petitioned major Olympics sponsors to pressure the IOC to maintain its hardline stance against Russia and Belarus.

Bach’s latest comments came as “several dozen” people held a protest outside Essen’s Philharmonic Music Hall, some of whom were Ukrainian refugees, according to Reuters. Ukraine has threatened to boycott the Paris Olympics if a complete ban on Russia and Belarus is not upheld.

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Olympics chief responds to Ukraine’s boycott calls

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International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach has criticized Ukraine’s calls to boycott the Paris 2024 Games if Russian athletes are allowed to take part. The role of the Olympics is to unify, not escalate and contribute to confrontation, he said.

“It’s not up to governments to decide who can take part in which sports competitions because this would be the end of international sport competitions… as we know it,” Bach told journalists on Sunday.

In late January, the IOC said it may allow athletes from Russia and Belarus who do not publicly support Moscow’s military operation in Ukraine to participate in the 2024 Summer Olympics under a neutral flag.

The announcement angered Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, who called on countries to boycott the Games if this happens. Speaking on Friday, Zelensky said the presence of Russian athletes would be a “manifestation of violence” that “cannot be covered up with some pretended neutrality or a white flag.”

In comments cited by France 24, Bach stated that “history will show who is doing more for peace, the ones who try to keep lines open and communicate or the ones who want to isolate and divide.”

Our role is bringing people together.

Ukraine’s calls for a boycott of the Summer Olympics go against the “principles we stand for,” he said.

IOC president blasts Ukraine – media

Bach added that these calls are premature, saying: “we are talking about the sporting competitions to take place this year. There is no talk about Paris yet, this will come much later.”

In deciding the fate of Russian and Belarusian athletes, the IOC must address the “serious concerns” of the UN Human Rights Council that banning them “only because of their passports is a violation of their rights,” he explained.

“We have seen a Belarusian player under neutral status winning the Australian Open. So why shouldn’t it be possible in a swimming pool for instance, or in gymnastics?” the IOC chief said. He was referring to the success of tennis star Aryna Sabalenka, who won the Australian Open in Melbourne last month.

Bach added, however, that Ukrainian athletes should “know how much we share their grief, their human suffering and all the effort we’re taking to help them” as a result of the conflict.

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