UKC

Iranian climber Elnaz Rekabi, who made headlines worldwide for competing without wearing a hijab at the IFSC Asian Championships in Seoul last weekend in an apparent anti-regime protest, has returned to Iran. She was welcomed at Tehran's main airport at around 5 a.m. local time by hundreds of supporters, including many from the Iranian climbing community. The IFSC has issued a statement confirming that Rekabi has 'safely arrived' in Iran, citing 'clear assurance' that she will not suffer any consequences for her actions.

Read more

Wow! Wow! Wow! Wow!

Elnaz has got guts and courage by the truck load!

I read that the plane actually landed around 1am but she didn't emerge until 5am.

The cynic in me thinks the authorities, having seen hundreds of people waiting for her, were trying to gauge the time when there would be fewest people and least social media impact.

Not sure about that. Found her flight on Skyscanner after someone told me the arrival time and lots of journalists were tracking it on FlightRadar overnight, which confirmed the 3:40 flight (it landed a bit early at 3:11 a.m.). She was slow to get out, though, it seems.

https://www.tehran-airport.com/ika-imam-khomeini-flight-arrival/QR490

Very good news

It's almost as if a media frenzy was whipped up over nothing but for propaganda.

No, unfortunately it isn't unalloyed good news and doesn't seem like she's quite out of the woods yet.  She made the same statement in person at the airport that appeared on her instagram, and it seemed equally likely to have been made under duress.  (She figuratively, almost literally, had a minder twisting her arm behind her back as she spoke.)

Apparently she was then taken away in a van and I don't think it's entirely clear where she is now.

If you have been following events at all, you must be aware that what's going on in Iran more generally right now is most definitely not some sort of mere media confection.

Exactly. I’m still waiting worriedly for news of her. No news is bad news.

Dawes: at risk of sounding condescending, I suggest you go and do a bit of research about what is going on there and what is at stake, and also a bit about Iranian society and culture, both contemporary and historical. It is very poorly understood in the west. All the best.

Reading Iran Wire it does appear as if she is being paraded by the Iranian authorities as the sinner who has repented. Clearly they are now using her as an example for the rest of their restless population.

It is a terrible position she is in. Very much a hostage and I don't blame her one bit for playing along.

I don’t know. Currently under house arrest with threats of escalated consequences. Does that sound like “nothing but propaganda” to you?
 

https://twitter.com/faranak_amidi/status/1583405753687498753?s=46&t=pe2...