But where did Elnaz Rekabi, the Iranian climber who competed without a veil, go?

It looks suspiciously like the Peng Shuai case.

On the night of October 16 to 17 in Seoul (South Korea), Elnaz Rekabi finished fourth in the Asian Climbing Championship.

So far, nothing out of the ordinary.

But a significant detail of her outfit will make a lot of noise on social networks.

The climber comes without a veil and becomes the first Iranian athlete in more than 40 years to appear in a competition without a hijab.

In a historic move, Iranian athlete Elnaz Rekabi who represented Iran at the Asian Climbing Competitions finals in Seoul, competed without hijab, disobeying the Islamic Republic's restrictions for female athletes.

pic.twitter.com/KvxE5NoQLi

— Iran International English (@IranIntl_En) October 16, 2022

Since ?

No more news.

The information and denials diverge.

As a reminder, since Iran became an Islamic Republic in 1979, Islamic law prohibits women from appearing in competitions without this veil.

But with the death of Mahsa Amini following his arrest by the police after covering his hair badly, Iran is crossed by a wave of protests.

For the past few weeks, part of Iranian sport has been in solidarity with the riots.

During a preparation match in Austria for the next World Cup, the players of the national football team kept a black jacket over their shirts during their country's anthem.

Without consequences for them.

Quite the opposite of Elnaz Rekabi.

“My veil had a problem…”

According to information from BBC Persian, confirmed by The Guardian, the young woman's relatives lost contact on Monday evening.

The Iranian climbing team was, at that time, to leave their hotel in Garden Seoul.

The two media also confirm that the sportswoman's phone and passport were confiscated from her.

This is where things get tough since the athlete herself, or in any case, her Instagram account is active this Tuesday morning.

الناز رکابی سنگنورد ایرانی که در مسابقات سئول بدون روسری مسابقه داده بود در استوری اینستاگرامش پس از چند روز سکوت نوشت که،«سهوا پوشش بنده دچار مشکل شد و در حال حاضر طبق زمانبندی از قبل تعیین شده به همراه تیم، در حال بازگشت به ایران هستم” pic.twitter.com/0UUvCnHpIF

— BBC NEWS فارسی (@bbcpersian) October 18, 2022

“I apologize for any concerns I have caused (…) After my name was called unexpectedly to go up the wall, my veil experienced a problem.

For the moment, as planned in my schedule, I am returning to Iran with the team, ”says a text published in story.

A statement to be taken with a grain of salt, of course, and which reminds us, of course, of Peng Shuai's forced denials.

A symbolic act sanctioned

But where did Elnaz Rekabi go?

There is no doubt that the act of the athlete did not go unnoticed in the eyes of the Iranian executive.

The Iranian Mountaineering and Climbing Federation did not fail to announce its fourth place on its website, but accompanied this result with a photo of the climber with her hijab!

Before her, Sadaf Khadem, a 27-year-old boxer, had won a fight abroad in 2019, bareheaded and in shorts.

“They will inevitably tap him on the fingers, because symbolically, it has been seen in the world”

Mahyar Monshipour, coach of Sadaf Khadem

Her trainer Mahyar Monshipour remembers it perfectly and draws a parallel with the story of Elnaz Rekabi: “What she did was a distrust of power.

Already in climbing, we have tight clothes.

It is already an offense of Hijab, which originally means: to hide the female body.

“The former boxer continues:” With the current context, they will necessarily hit him on the knuckles, because symbolically, it has been seen in the world.

»

Heading to Evin Prison?

The independent newspaper Iran Wire believes it knows the rest of the Elnaz Rekabi story.

The 33-year-old athlete was allegedly trapped by her federation chief Reza Zarei inside the Seoul embassy.

This man would have received an order from the president of the Iranian Olympic Committee Mohammad Khosravivafa to arrest the climber as soon as possible.

Done.

Also according to Iran Wire, the athlete may have been driven from Imam Khomeini International Airport to the notorious Evin prison on Tuesday morning after a fire that killed eight people.

The Iranian media also indicates that the athlete has not requested political asylum, because she fears for her husband who is still in Iran.

A statement from the Iranian Embassy in Seoul says Elnaz Rekabi departed from Seoul to Iran this morning, and it denies "all the fake, false news."

It comes amid reports she will be directly transferred to a prison from the airport after competing without a hijab.

#ElnazRekabi pic.twitter.com/CbOxCEIspb

— Hyunsu Yim (@hyunsuinseoul) October 18, 2022

Information denied by the Iranian embassy in Seoul, which confirmed, in a press release, the safe return of the athlete.

“Elnaz Rekabi left Seoul for Iran early on October 18 with all his team members.

The embassy (…) forcefully denies all the false information about him.

“, explains the embassy.

However, without a public appearance by the athlete, doubt persists.

On social networks, the #ElnazRekabi and #WhereisElnazRekabi are slowly rising.