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.
Grandfather allegedly ‘boiled alive’ after 136-degree shower scalds skin at California hotel
Driver who mowed down blue city officer, yelled, ‘F— these cops,’ sparks outrage over light sentence
Hegseth works out with US troops in Malaysia as War Department vows ‘we will be fit, not fat’
Trump’s fire fades on Russia as he pulls troops, avoids pressing Xi on oil
Senate Judiciary Chair Calls ‘Arctic Frost’ Scandal ‘Worse Than Watergate’ as Full Extent of Biden DOJ’s Scheme Comes Out
Loudoun County school district hit with new conspiracy claims in transgender locker room case
Top Maryland Democrat urged to ‘get out of the way’ of midcycle redistricting
Watch: Democratic Congresswoman’s Dishonesty Exposed When Interviewer Calls Her Out on ‘Poison Pill’ Claim
JD Vance Calmly Dismantles Immigrant Lecturing Him at Campus Event: ‘My Job as VP Is Not to Look Out for the Interest of the Whole World’
Surrogate Discovers ‘Sinister’ Truth About Surrogacy a Year After Giving Birth: ‘It Has to Stop’
Trump surgeon general nominee confirmation hearing postponed as she goes into labor
Vance to meet with Duffy, aviation leaders as shutdown ‘gravely’ impacts crucial industry
Louisiana GOP throws weight behind Turning Point USA chapter rejected by New Orleans university: ‘injustice’
Daughter of Kentucky sheriff accused of gunning down judge slams online ‘gossip’ about dad
Op-Ed: To Local Zambians, Voddie Baucham’s Legacy Lives On
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.
