Elnaz Rekabi: Crowd welcomes home Iran climber who competed without hijab in South Korea

A cheering crowd welcomed home Iranian sports climber Elnaz Rekabi at a Tehran airport on Wednesday, after she competed in South Korea without a hijab, media in the Islamic Republic reported.

Rekabi wore only a headband during the Asian Championships in Seoul on Sunday, in what was seen by some as a gesture of solidarity with month-long protests in Iran over the death of Mahsa Amini after her arrest for allegedly failing to wear her hijab 'correctly'.

The move was a breach of the Islamic Republic's mandatory dress rules of compulsory headscarf for women which also apply to all female athletes when competing abroad.

Rekabi, 33, was seen arriving at Imam Khomeini International Airport early on Wednesday, in a video broadcast by state news agency IRNA.

Dozens of people welcomed her, cheering and clapping loudly as she emerged outside, according to a video posted online by the reformist Shargh newspaper.

They surrounded a white van and car with her and other members of her team apparently on board.

Dressed in a black hoodie and baseball cap, Rekabi was greeted by family members, before addressing state media with a mask pulled down on her face.

"Due 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," she said.

"I 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," she said, adding she had "no plan to say goodbye to the national team".

Her comments were similar to a statement she gave on Tuesday on Instagram, in which she apologised for "concerns" caused and insisted her bare-headed appearance had been "unintentional".

Rights groups outside of Iran had expressed concerns over her situation following reports her friends had been unable to contact her.

At least 215 people, including 27 children, have been killed in Iran's crackdown on a month of nationwide protests sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini, the Oslo-based group Iran Human Rights (IHR) said on Monday.#MahsaAmini #IranProtestshttps://t.co/CFAA0VjxDV

— The New Arab (@The_NewArab) October 17, 2022

The Iranian embassy in Seoul, however, issued a statement to AFP denying "all the fake, false news and disinformation regarding" her situation and adding Rekabi had left South Korea along with her teammates on Tuesday.

In the initial bouldering discipline her head was covered with a bandana but in the later lead climbing, scaling a high wall with a rope, she wore only a headband, the stream posted by the International Federation of Sport Climbing showed.

It came as Iran is gripped by protests over the death of 22-year-old Kurdish Iranian Amini, with many women taking part in the demonstrations, removing their head coverings on the streets or at universities and schools.

The street violence has led to dozens of deaths, mostly among protesters but also among the security forces, and hundreds of demonstrators have been arrested.

Amini's Kurdish name can be spelt "Zhina" or "Jina".