https://arab.news/9j5rp
- Elnaz Rekabi’s house lacked permit, says state news agency
- Athlete was ‘forced to apologize’ after contest abroad
LONDON: The home of the Iranian climber who competed abroad without wearing a headscarf has been demolished, according to reports.
Elnaz Rekabi flouted Iran’s mandatory dress code during a competition in South Korea, but claimed it had fallen off inadvertently.
She had been forced to apologize, according to the BBC.
Protesters across Iran have hailed Rekabi, who had been whisked back from South Korea and was met by dozens of cheering supporters at the airport.
Widespread protests have rocked Iran for months following the death of 22-year-old Kurd Mahsa Amini, who died on Sept. 16 after her arrest in Tehran for an alleged breach of the dress code.
A video purportedly showing the ruins of the Rekabi family house with sports medals on the ground started circulating this week and Davood, Rekabi’s brother, is seen crying in the clip.
Tasnim news agency confirmed that the house had been demolished, but said it was due to Rekabi’s family not having a valid permit for its construction, and that it had taken place before she had competed abroad.
It is not clear when the viral footage was shot.
In October, the US criticized the Iran regime’s treatment of Rekabi and warned that the “world was watching.”
State Department spokesman Vedant Patel told reporters: “The Iranian regime and its leaders have a long history of abusing the rights of women and violating their freedom of expression, including through threats, through intimidation and violence.”