Iranian climber Elnaz Rekabi alleges her hijab fell off by accident

MADRID, 18 Oct. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The Iranian climber Elnaz Rekabi, who disappeared after a competition in South Korea, has published a text on Instagram in which she alleges that her hijab fell off by accident, implying that it is not a political claim against the Government.

"Due to poor organization and because I was called to climb without prior notice, my veil fell involuntarily," Rekabi alleges in the message published on Tuesday, apologizing for "worrying everyone" and stating that he has returned to Tehran, according to the BBC.

The publication of this 33-year-old climber has come hours after her friends reported to the British public broadcaster that they could not contact her since Sunday night, when she went to the Iranian Embassy in Seoul.

The authorities would have seized the athlete's passport and telephone number, transferred directly to the Khomeini International Airport --two days before the scheduled date, on Wednesday-- to take her to the Evin prison, in Tehran, under the order of the Revolutionary Guard, according to the Iran Wire news portal.

However, the Iranian Embassy in Seoul has "strongly" denied this information, which it has described as "fake news". In a message on her Twitter profile, the diplomatic legation has shared a photograph of the athlete with a text that reads that she left for Iran on Tuesday once she had completed her participation in the tournament.

The climber's brother has assured the Tasnim news agency that Rekabi "will explain the details" soon at a press conference and has announced that he will continue to participate in competitions wearing the national team's clothing, that is, with the Islamic headscarf.