Iranian wrestler under UK police protection after 'threats'

A medal-winning Iranian wrestler now based in Scotland is living under a "safety plan", police said on Friday, following accusations the government in Tehran has threatened her.

Melika Balali, 22, who has publicly advocated for women's rights in Iran since leaving the country a year ago, said Scottish police intervened after alleged Iranian government enquiries about her and threats on social media.

"They've tried to find where I'm living and who I'm practising with," she told BBC Scotland in an interview aired Thursday.

"But thanks to police in Scotland... I live safely, I train in a safe area - I have all kinds of security.

"These threats make me stronger. When I receive threats from the government of Iran I just think my way is right - if I were wrong, why would they threaten me?"

A Police Scotland spokesman said the force was "made aware of online threats having been made in July 2022".

"Enquiries were carried out and a safety plan is in place," he added.

The Iranian embassy in London did not respond to a request for comment.

Balali, who won gold for Scotland at the British Wrestling Championships in June, used her podium appearance then to protest Iran's strict dress code for women and other restrictions.

During the medal ceremony, she held up a sign that stated "stop forcing hijab" and "I have the right to be a wrestler".

This was two months before demonstrations erupted inside Iran over the death of young Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini, which the authorities have been accused of violently suppressing.

Amini, 22, died in police custody after her arrest for allegedly wearing the hijab "improperly".

Balali, who was forced to wear a head covering from the age of five by her family growing up in Iran's Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province, said relatives have cut contact since she began speaking out.

She told the BBC how they also stopped her from pursuing wrestling for many years because of her gender, despite it being a tradition among the men in her family.

However, that changed when Iran's wrestling federation created a female team in 2018 - though competitors had to wear a body suit which covered their hair.

Balali then emigrated to Scotland in November last year to further her wrestling career.

"The first time I wore a singlet in Manchester, my family stopped talking to me. They think they are ashamed of me," she said, referring to a more typical wrestling outfit.

"But when I'm here and wearing a singlet I feel free.

"Not because I'm free to do wrestling, because I'm not wearing three layers of clothes - but because I'm free to think, free to build something that is for me."

Balali recently shaved her head at a protest in Glasgow, in an act of solidarity with the ongoing protests in Iran over women's rights and other suppression.

She is hoping to eventually represent Britain at international competitions.