Iranian climber Rekabi placed under house arrest after competing without hijab: Report

Trouble continues to mount for Iranian rock climber Elnaz Rekabi, who recently made headlines for not wearing a hijab at a competition in South Korea. According to reports, Rekabi was placed under house arrest after she returned to Iran on Friday from the International Federation of Sport Climbing’s Asia Championship in Seoul.

While the athlete was welcomed with loud cheers from admirers at Tehran’s international airport, her phone was seized soon after she reached Zanjan, her hometown, Persian news outlet Iran International on Friday. Although the Islamic Republic penalizes female athletes who do not wear the traditional headscarf during competitions, Khosravi Vafa, the president of Iran’s national Olympic committee, stated that Rekabi would not be penalized for the act. "It’s a small issue. I’m surprised that it is being talked about so much. In our view, it was not a big issue,” he said. 

"I talked to her and told her that you definitely are very talented in sports and you should continue down this path to maybe qualify for the Paris Olympics and you'll be fully supported by the Iranian Olympic committee," he added. According to Vafa, Rekabi was welcomed as "a guest at Iran’s Olympic committee hotel for one day, along with her family” after she arrived in the country.

However, there have been speculations that Rekabi was forced to stay at the hotel, as she was photographed wearing the same black attire at the meeting that she wore hours before at the airport. Moreover, several local news outlets have reported that Rekabi’s brother was arrested by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard after a complaint against him was filed by Vafa. 

Rekabi issues an apology for not wearing the hijab

As Rekabi’s fate remains uncertain, her supporters continue to express their concerns over her safety and well-being. Earlier this week, Rekabi addressed the controversy and apologized for not wearing the hijab at the competition. “Greetings to all dear and honorable Iranian compatriots, I am Alnaz Rekabi, with a history of twenty years as a member of the national mountaineering team,” she wrote on her Instagram handle. She further revealed that her “head covering inadvertently came off” during the finals of the competition due to "bad timing, and the unanticipated call for me to climb the wall.”