Atefeh Ahmadi, 22, is the only Iranian figure skater to qualify for the Winter Olympics in Beijing.
Statements of the Iranian athlete to the organization “Iran International”
• “I left Iran to achieve my goal, but my heart is with Iran.”
• “I regret that when I applied for a visa through the Iranian Ski Federation, I was asked to provide a title deed as a guarantee.”
• “I regret giving priority to the men’s ski team, and I was monitored by the security services when traveling abroad.”
Iran has been witnessing a protest movement since the death of the young woman, Mahsa Amini, 3 days after she was arrested by the “morality police” on September 16, for allegedly violating the country’s strict dress code.
The authorities generally refer to these protests as “riots encouraged by countries and organizations hostile to Iran.”
According to the latest toll issued by the Norway-based Human Rights Organization in Iran, at least 488 people were killed during the demonstrations against the security forces, including 64 minors.
Iran’s Tasnim news agency quoted the head of the Iranian Ski Federation, Abbas Nazarian, as saying that Atefeh’s departure “was a personal decision, and it appears to have been planned for some time.”
Atefeh Ahmadi is not the first female athlete to leave Iran. Last December, chess player Sara Khadem fled to Spain after participating in an international tournament without wearing a headscarf.
In 2020, the taekwondo player Kimia Alizadeh, the only Olympic medalist in the history of the sport in Iran, left for the Netherlands.
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