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.
Trump to award Medal of Freedom to former pitcher Roger Clemens
Ken Paxton calls out James Talarico’s 11-day absence at Trump rally, prompting response from campaign
Trump heckled multiple times at Texas rally for Ken Paxton, blames ‘paid protesters’
FIRST ON FOX: US Coast Guard recruits largest class in nearly 40 years, beats goals for third straight year
Zach Bryan’s ‘Free Palestine’ Shirt Also Contained a Second Message – It Doesn’t Help His Case
GOP Senate hopeful sounds alarm after alleged Mall of America terror plot thwarted
Manning: Let’s Talk About Mamdani Defending Hamas on Oct. 7 and Exactly What They Did to Their Female Victims
House Democratic candidate denies illegal immigrant arrested by ICE works for campaign
Driver opens fire on strangers along major US interstate, tells cops he ‘had to kill people today’
DHS proposes massive $70K fee for foreign students seeking work authorization
Anti-Israel groups rally across US on October 7 anniversary, chanting ‘long live the intifada’
Judge weighs bid to dismiss soldier’s case over Polymarket bets tied to Maduro raid
Mom dies shielding baby in horrific 15-story Bronx fall as police hunt suspect: report
Christa Pike’s first words revealed after she unexpectedly woke up while lawyers thought she was ‘brain dead’
Watch: Pastor Fights Back as City Council Begins Meeting with Prayer to Satan
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.
