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.
Alex Murdaugh murder trial ‘egg juror’ fights to unseal state investigation into Becky Hill: report
Bryan Kohberger appointed new lawyer after Idaho murders case costs taxpayers over $8 million
Capitol sex scandals spark push to ban House lawmakers from sleeping with staffers
We Have Receipts: Four Years Ago, Fauci Said ‘Nothing to Hide,’ ‘Very Happy to Testify’ Before Congress
Can Fauci hide behind the Fifth? Game-changing Biden pardon may not provide complete cover, experts say
Watch: Seattle Top Cop Gives Absurd New Name to Criminal Gangs, Confirms He Was at Black Conference in Texas During Seattle Mass Shooting
‘Woke’ Smithsonian exhibit lionizes embattled Fauci amid conservative scrutiny of museum’s messaging
Trump accused China of an ‘election security nightmare’ but then undercut his own warning
Here’s What We Know About Key Questions Fauci Refused to Answer
How the Big Beautiful Bill became law: Trump the closer
Man sentenced to 6 months in jail for ramming car into Jewish group’s world headquarters in New York
Trump admin invokes 30-year dormant terror court as it seeks to deport Afghan woman tied to Election Day plot
Lindsay Clancy prosecutors ‘squeeze’ timeline from ex-husband as jury weighs ‘murder versus madness’: expert
Army conducts first overseas test of ‘Hammer of the Gods’ weapon-disrupting system
Grandmother’s missed pickup leads to grim discovery in church parking lot
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.
