DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Iran’s only female Olympic medalist said she defected from the Islamic Republic in a blistering online letter that describes herself as “one of the millions of oppressed women in Iran.”
Taekwondo athlete Kimia Alizadeh posted the letter on Instagram as semiofficial Iranian news agency ISNA said she had fled to the Netherlands. She criticized wearing the mandatory hijab headscarf and accused officials in Iran of sexism and mistreatment.
“Whatever they said, I wore,” Alizadeh wrote in the letter posted Saturday. “Every sentence they ordered, I repeated.”
She described the decision to leave Iran as difficult but necessary.
Legal Expert: Don Lemon’s Legal Battle Could Have Devastating Unintended Consequences for Abortion Clinics
Watch: NBC Broadcasts Dead Air – Twice – As Literally Speechless Election Analyst Learns Results Are Missing from 5 of 9 USB Drives in Blue City
Mamdani’s luxury-home tax gets new life as appeals court lifts roadblock in homeowner fight
Fox News Poll: A Senate battle looms in Michigan
A Democratic senator wanted to ban super PACs in primaries. Now he’s benefiting from one
Steve Hilton gains ground in California governor’s race but Becerra maintains lead: Poll
State Department abolishes ‘ideologically extreme and discriminatory’ DEI policies in Foreign Service
Zelensky’s missile plea shows dire state of Ukraine’s war machine
Blanche praises career DOJ staff and vows to leave agency better ‘than when I found it’
Scope of CCP-backed Chinese exchange program inside American schools uncovered in sweeping report
Over 100,000 Canadians sign petition for the removal of US ambassador
Karoline Leavitt Made the Right Decision, And More Young Women Should Follow Her Example
Dem Senate nominee admits ‘I take responsibility’ after police report alleges he broke down door, punched man
Studio That Helped Build Hollywood Considers Leaving California Due to Actions of Gavin Newsom Admin
Luigi Mangione expected to plead guilty in federal case
There was no immediate reaction from Iranian authorities. ISNA said Alizadeh had been reported injured and unable to compete. Its report suggested Alizadeh might try to compete under another nation’s flag at the 2020 Olympic games in Tokyo.
Alizadeh, 21, won a bronze medal at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
Her defection comes amid unprecedentedly high tensions between Iran and the United States.
In recent years, many Iranian athletes have left their country, citing government pressure. In September, Saeid Mollaei, an Iranian judoka, left the country for Germany. He said Iranian officials had forced him to not compete with Israeli judoka.
Alireza Faghani, an Iranian international soccer referee, also left Iran last year, for Australia.
Story cited here.
