The president of Iran’s national Olympic committee has said competitive climber Elnaz Rekabi will not be punished or suspended after competing in South Korea over the weekend without wearing her nation’s mandatory headscarf.
Supporters of Rekabi, however, remain worried for the 33-year-old climber as other athletes have been targeted by the government for supporting the protests currently rocking Iran.
Activists say security forces already have killed more than 200 people and arrested thousands in an ongoing crackdown on dissent.
Speaking to The Associated Press in the South Korean capital of Seoul, Mahmoud Khosravi Vafa said there was no reason to take disciplinary measures against Rekabi because not wearing a headscarf, or hijab, was an “unintentional” act on her part.
An Instagram account associated with Rekabi also described the decision as “unintentional”, a claim she repeated after reaching Tehran early on Wednesday.
She blamed being rushed to compete, though a video of her climb Sunday showed her relaxed and waving to the crowd.
Mr Khosravi Vafa said: “It’s a small issue. I’m surprised that it is being talked about so much.”
This comes despite protests over the mandatory hijab reaching more than 100 cities in Iran so far.
“In our view it was not a big issue.”
Mr Khosravi Vafa added that he discussed Rekabi with International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach on Wednesday on the sidelines of the Association of National Olympic Committees General Assembly in Seoul.
Mr Khosravi Vafa said he spoke personally to Rekabi as well.
“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 in remarks made in Farsi.
The International Olympic Committee described Rekabi on Wednesday as having “returned to Iran safely and with her family”.
Mr Khosravi Vafa, however, described Rekabi as being “a guest at Iran’s Olympic committee hotel for one day, along with her family”.
It was not clear if Rekabi had a choice over the stay.
A later image published by Iranian state media showed her in a meeting hours after returning to Tehran in the same black baseball cap and hoodie she wore after her flights.
Mr Khosravi Vafa said Rekabi would return to her hometown on Thursday.
Rekabi’s competition without a hijab was seized upon by demonstrators who have protested for weeks in the Islamic Republic.
Hundreds of people gathered outside Imam Khomeini International Airport for her arrival and cheered a woman they called “Elnaz the Champion”, and saw as an inspiration for their continued protests.
When asked whether he discussed the issue with Iranian delegates, Robin Mitchell, a Fijian sports official who was elected the new president of the Association of National Olympic Committees at the assembly on Thursday, said they had not spoken and indicated he was not aware the Iranians were at the meetings.
Mr Khosravi Vafa did not specifically address suspicions that Iranian authorities confiscated Rekabi’s passport after the event in Seoul and forced her to leave early.
Iran has been swept by nationwide protests since the death on September 16th of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who had been detained by the country’s morality police over her clothing.
The demonstrations, which have prompted women to remove their hijabs in public, have drawn school-age children, oil workers and others to the streets and represent the most serious challenge to Iran’s theocracy since the mass protests surrounding its disputed 2009 presidential election.
