(Paris) Iranian skier Atefeh Ahmadi, who participated in the 2022 Olympic Games, has left her country of origin and requested asylum in Germany, the NGO Iran International, based in London, reported on Saturday.
Atefeh Ahmadi, in her twenties, was the only Iranian skier qualified for the Beijing Winter Olympics.
“I left Iran to achieve my goal, but my heart is with Iran,” she told the NGO. “If I could, I would stand with the people so that we can achieve freedom together. »
Iran has been in the grip of a protest movement since the death on September 16 of Mahsa Amini, a young Iranian Kurd who was arrested three days earlier by the police for violating the Islamic Republic’s strict dress code which imposes the wearing of the veil for women. in public.
Authorities generally refer to these protests as “riots” encouraged by countries and organizations hostile to Iran.
According to a latest report from the NGO Iran Human Rights (IHR), based in Norway, the security forces have killed since September 16 at least 488 people during the demonstrations, including 64 under the age of 18.
Atefeh Ahmadi regretted that when applying for a visa via the Iranian Ski Federation, it had demanded “a deed of ownership as a guarantee”.
She also deplored that “priority is given to the men’s ski team”, and complained about the heavy surveillance of Iranian security services when traveling abroad.
Iranian Ski Federation President Abbas Nazarian, quoted by Iran’s Tasnim news agency, said his departure “was a personal decision and seems to have been planned for some time”.
Atefeh Ahmadi is not the first sportswoman to leave Iran. In December, chess player Sara Khadem fled to Spain after competing in an international tournament without a veil.
In 2020, taekwondo player Kimia Alizadeh, the only female Olympic medalist in Iranian sports history, left her country for the Netherlands.