PARIS
\nAn Iranian climber who caused a sensation by competing abroad without a hijab was given a hero\u2019s welcome on her return to Tehran Wednesday by supporters who raucously applauded her action.
\nWith Iran still shaken by women-led protests over the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini one month ago, after her arrest for allegedly violating the country\u2019s strict dress code for women, Elnaz Rekabi returned following the competition in South Korea.
\nIn an Instagram post and comments at the airport, Rekabi has apologised over what happened and insisted her hijab headscarf (which all Iranian women, including athletes, must wear) had accidentally slipped off.
\nBut activists fear her comments were made under pressure from Iranian authorities.
\n\u201cElnaz is a hero\u201d and \u201cWell done Elnaz!\u201d chanted dozens of supporters who gathered outside the Imam Khomeini International Airport terminal, clapping their hands and brandishing mobile phones to record the moment.
\nSome of the women present were themselves not wearing a hijab.
\n\u201cA hero\u2019s welcome (including by women without the forced hijab) outside Tehran… Concerns for her safety remain,\u201d said the New York-based Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI).
\nRekabi, 33, her hair covered with a baseball cap and a hoodie although not a headscarf, was greeted by family members inside the airport terminal.
\nShe then addressed state media, with a mask pulled down on her face.
\n\u201cDue to the atmosphere prevailing in the finals of the competition and the unexpected call for me to start my run, I got tangled with my technical equipment and… that caused me to remain unaware of the hijab that I should have observed,\u201d she said.
\n\u201cI returned to Iran peacefully, in perfect health and according to the predetermined plan. I apologise to the people of Iran because of the tensions created,\u201d she said, adding she had \u201cno plan to say goodbye to the national team\u201d.
\nHer comments were similar to those made on Tuesday in an Instagram post, in which she apologised for \u201cconcerns\u201d caused.
\nShe was later photographed (still wearing a cap and hoodie) standing alongside Sports Minister Hamid Sajjadi, with whom she discussed \u201cher future in sports and arranged plans, including participation and success in the Paris Olympics\u201d, a ministry statement said.
\nActivists have repeatedly accused the Islamic republic of coercing people into making statements of contrition on television or social media.
\nBritish actress of Iranian origin Nazanin Boniadi, an ambassador for Amnesty International in the UK, tweeted that it was clear Rekabi had been \u201cforced to make this statement by authorities that constantly use forced and televised confessions.\u201d
\nObservers \u201cshould not be swayed by state propaganda\u201d, the CHRI said.
\nProminent exiled Iranian journalist Maziar Bahari described Rekabi\u2019s comments as a \u201cforced confession\u201d.
\n\u201cYou can see the fear in her eyes. She\u2019s just repeating what she\u2019s been told,\u201d he said.
\nUnconfirmed reports had already suggested Rekabi had been pressured by Iranian officials in South Korea.
\nBBC Persian quoted an unidentified source as saying friends had been unable to contact her, and the team had left their hotel in Seoul on Monday, two days before their scheduled departure.
\nNews website Iran Wire said the head of Iran\u2019s climbing federation had \u201ctricked\u201d Rekabi into entering the Iranian embassy in Seoul, promising her safe passage to Iran if she handed over her phone and passport.
\nThe Iranian embassy in Seoul issued a statement to AFP denying \u201call the fake, false news and disinformation regarding\u201d Rekabi\u2019s situation.
\nThe incident took place at the Asian Championships in sports climbing in Seoul on Sunday.
\nIn the initial bouldering discipline, Rekabi\u2019s head was covered with a bandana but in a later event she wore only a headband, the stream posted by the International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) showed.
\nThe IFSC said in a statement that it had been in contact with Rekabi and the Iranian Climbing Federation and fully support \u201cthe rights of athletes, their choices, and expression of free speech\u201d.
\nThe United States warned Tehran that \u201cthe world and the Iranian people will be watching how she (Rekabi) is treated.\u201d
\nAlso Wednesday, Tehran blacklisted several British individuals and institutions, including BBC Persian.
\nThe move came after London sanctioned Iran\u2019s morality police, in whose custody Mahsa Amini died last month.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
PARIS An Iranian climber who caused a sensation by competing abroad without a hijab was given a hero\u2019s welcome on her return to Tehran Wednesday by supporters who raucously applauded her action. With Iran still shaken by women-led protests over the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini one month ago, after her arrest for allegedly violating […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":290664,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-290649","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n