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.
Charlie Kirk supporters return to site of assassination 1 year later: ‘We are still standing’
Juror on Lindsay Clancy trial says ‘we let down Lindsay’ following mistrial
Top GOP senator reveals what Dem colleagues are fretting about behind closed doors
Several People Who Were Fired Over Charlie Kirk Comments Got Big Payouts or Were Given Their Jobs Back
JD Vance to invoke Charlie Kirk, family ‘birthright’ in fiery midterm keynote speech thrashing Dems
FBI Busts Scheme to Use Skid-Row Homeless to Steal Voters’ Identities for Ballot Petitions
Conservatives Accuse Netflix of ‘Subtly Mocking Charlie Kirk’s Assassination,’ Call for Mass Cancellation
Patriots Announcers in Disbelief as QB Throws Away Season Opener on Final Play: ‘What Was He Thinking?’
Judge questions possible attorney conflict in DC pipe bomber case
Prosecutor Joseph diGenova resigns from DOJ role investigating Trump-Russia probes
Fatwas, holy wars and socialism: Inside the Islamic conference where El-Sayed drew a hero’s welcome
ICE arrests Peruvian national accused of illegally voting in 2024 election as DHS cites similar cases
TPUSA Official Explains How ‘Ghouls’ Celebrating Anniversary of Charlie Kirk’s Death Are Actually Helping His Cause
Deep Dive: One Year On, ‘A Million Charlie Kirks’ Have Not Yet Emerged, But Disunity and Insanity Have
James Talarico needles Ken Paxton amid GOP midterm convention
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.
