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Iran: Family home of climber Elnaz Rekabi demolished – I24NEWS

The family home of Elnaz Rekabi – an Iranian climber who had competed abroad with her hair uncovered – has reportedly been demolished.

A video showing the ruins of a house with sports medals on the ground began circulating this week. In these images we see Davood, the brother of Elnaz Rekabi – also a top athlete – crying. Anti-government activists have denounced an act of revenge against the sportswoman, although it is not clear when the images were shot.

The semi-official Tasnim news agency confirmed that the house had been destroyed, while claiming that it was because the family did not have a valid permit for its construction, and that the demolition had occurred before that the climber does not compete without a headscarf.

The 33-year-old, who broke Iran’s dress code during a climbing competition in South Korea, later said: “Due to bad timing and the unexpected call for me to climb , my headgear came off inadvertently”. An apology that later proved to be forced according to sources, with authorities threatening to seize the family’s property.

On her return, she was greeted as a hero by a crowd who came to welcome her at Tehran airport, where she appeared without a headscarf, her hair covered by a baseball cap and a hoodie.

IRNA/AFPIranian climber Elnaz Rekabi on her return to Tehran

The next day, she had met the Iranian Minister of Sports with the same clothes, which had led to believe that she had not returned home in the meantime. A source said at the time that Elnaz Rekabi had been held in a room in the Iranian National Olympic Committee building, with plainclothes officers present until she met the minister.

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