Travel Ban on Elnaz Rekabi, Iranian Climbing Champion
The head of the Iranian Mountaineering Federation confirmed the news of preventing Elnaz Rekabi, the Iranian climbing champion, from leaving the country after her participation in a climbing competition without a headscarf became controversial.
Reza Zarei, the head of the Iranian Mountaineering Federation, stated that yesterday Elnaz Rekabi and her husband intended to travel to Spain, but officials at the airport prevented their departure and confiscated Ms. Rekabi’s passport.
The head of the Iranian Mountaineering Federation cited administrative issues as the reason for the travel ban on this athlete and said that Ms. Rekabi was supposed to go to the passport office to complete her administrative tasks after the South Korea competitions, but I don’t know why she didn’t go to resolve this issue. Ms. Rekabi had participated in the Asian climbing competitions without a headscarf. After arriving at the airport, she was met with an enthusiastic public reception but did not go home. She was kept in a closed location at the National Olympic Academy under the supervision of plainclothes officers and later met with Hamid Sajjadi, the Iranian Minister of Sports.