Besides losing its top general, Iran has also lost its one and only female Olympic medalist.
On Saturday, Iranian Taekwondo Olympian Kimia Alizadeh responded to rumors that she’d defected from the country where she was born and raised by publishing an Instagram post in Farsi admitting to the defection and outlining the reasons for it.
“Let me start with a greeting, a farewell or condolences. … I am one of the millions of oppressed women in Iran who they have been playing with for years,” she wrote, according to a translation of the original post provided by CNN.
“They took me wherever they wanted. I wore whatever they said. Every sentence they ordered me to say, I repeated. Whenever they saw fit, they exploited me. I wasn’t important to them. None of us mattered to them, we were tools.”
She added that she “didn’t want to sit at the table of hypocrisy, lies, injustice and flattery” and be complicit with the rogue regime’s “corruption and lies.”
“My troubled spirit does not fit with your dirty economic ties and tight political lobbies. I wish for nothing else than for Taekwondo, safety and for a happy and healthy life.”
View the original post below:
Rumors of her departure first surfaced Thursday.
“The semi-official ISNA news agency on Thursday carried a report saying: ‘Shock for Iran’s Taekwondo. Kimia Alizadeh has emigrated to The Netherlands,'” The Times of Israel confirmed on Friday.
“According to ISNA, the coach of the women’s national team said that Alizadeh is suffering from an injury. It said Alizadeh did not show up for trials ahead of the Tokyo Games. ISNA and several other media believe that Alizadeh, who is reportedly training in The Netherlands, is hoping to compete in Tokyo but not under the Iranian flag.”
The Times notes that she rose to prominence in 2016 by winning a bronze medal for Taekwondo at the Rio Olympics. Because of Iran’s fundamentalist religious views and laws, she reportedly competed while wearing a headscarf, despite temperatures at the event reportedly ranging up to as high as 95 degrees Fahrenheit.
On Thursday, an image also emerged purportedly showing her standing among other Taekwondo players in The Netherlands. Of note is the fact that she wore no scarf.
Look:
کیمیا علیزاده در المپیک خارج از پرچم ایران مبارزه میکند https://t.co/7IEcifLniG pic.twitter.com/X3q4qcbOvM
— Sepehr Kamali (@AsemanDailyNews) January 9, 2020
At the time of the post, Iranian officials reportedly lashed out at the Iran Taekwondo Association for allowing Iran’s “human capital to flee.”
“If Alizadeh fails to represent Iran at the Tokyo Olympics it would be a huge blow for the Islamic republic. Along with judo, Taekwondo is one of Iran’s sporting strengths,” the Times notes.
Or rather, it used to be …
Iran used to also reportedly be known for its Judo stars. That too fell by the wayside after one, a top Judo star fled as a refugee to Germany after he exposed efforts by the nation’s government to avoid playing against Israel, and two, the International Judo Federation decreed the nation may not play until it stops with the antisemitic crap.
Alizadeh’s defection comes amid the recent elimination by the Trump administration of top Iranian general and terrorist mastermind Qasem Soleimani and the unintentional downing by the Iranian government of a Ukrainian flight that contained 82 Iranians.
While both events have provoked recriminations from the left against U.S. President Donald Trump, whom some Democrats and media pundits say “assassinated” Soleimani and thus caused Iran to shoot down the flight, the Iranian people themselves appear to feel differently about the matter.
Protests against Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and his corrupt administration officials (including the now-deceased Soleimani), as well the intentional and unintentional murders committed by them, have reportedly broken out all across Iran.
Look:
“Soleimani was a murderer, his Leader is also a murderer!”
“Soleimani was a murderer, his Leader is also a murderer!”
“Soleimani was a murderer, his Leader is also a murderer!”
“Soleimani was a murderer, his Leader is also a murderer!”Bravest people in the world. pic.twitter.com/xjCav4reQi
— Hillel Neuer (@HillelNeuer) January 11, 2020
More footage from today’s ongoing protests against the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) in Tehran.
Iranian authorities had used all resources possible to draw crowds to #Soleimani‘s funeral.
But people now are out despite not having any resources. This is called “organic” protest. pic.twitter.com/Lp46GwDVMz
— Masih Alinejad ?️ (@AlinejadMasih) January 11, 2020
Another meaningful protest video from Iran.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC)often boast about fighting against the ISIS.
But in Iran, they impose an ISIS-style philosophy.
That’s why protesters chanted:
“Our IRGC-led government: you’re our ISIS” pic.twitter.com/O83nBGBwYq
— Masih Alinejad ?️ (@AlinejadMasih) January 12, 2020
Protests erupt against the Revolutionary Guards at Amir-Kabir University in Tehran due to authorities’ incompetence and negligence after the recent plane crash that killed more than 176 people.
Some people had claimed Iranians were united after #Soleimani‘s death. Think again. pic.twitter.com/ILacRPomZv
— Masih Alinejad ?️ (@AlinejadMasih) January 11, 2020
#BREAKING
Jan 12 – Tehran, #Iran
Iran National (Beheshti) Univ. students protesting the IRGC’s downing of Ukraine Int’l Airlines flight #PS752.“Cannons, tanks, tear gas are no longer effective!”
“Incompetent IRGC is killing the people!”#IranProtestspic.twitter.com/XTLbRBJ2qx— Heshmat Alavi (@HeshmatAlavi) January 12, 2020
#BREAKING
Jan 12 – Tehran, #Iran
Iran National (Beheshti) Univ. students specifically targeting their protests against the regime dictator @khamenei_ir.“College students are aware, and sick & tired of Seyed Ali [Khamenei]!”#IranProtests pic.twitter.com/OydewZB59R
— Heshmat Alavi (@HeshmatAlavi) January 12, 2020
Jan 12 – Tehran, #Iran
Students at Beheshti University debunking the regime’s lies.“Our enemy is right here; they lie that it’s the US”
“We don’t want the Islamic republic”#IranProtestspic.twitter.com/Mgqx42eEyZ— Heshmat Alavi (@HeshmatAlavi) January 12, 2020
Much of this stunning footage has not yet made it into the feeds of the American media, though they have caught the attention of the president.
In tweets posted late Saturday in both English and Farsi, the president expressed his unequivocal support for the Iranian people:
To the brave, long-suffering people of Iran: I’ve stood with you since the beginning of my Presidency, and my Administration will continue to stand with you. We are following your protests closely, and are inspired by your courage.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 11, 2020
به مردم شجاع و رنج کشیده ایران: من از ابتدای دوره ریاست جمهوریم با شما ایستادهام و دولت من همچنان با شما خواهد ایستاد. ما اعتراضات شما را از نزدیک دنبال می کنیم. شجاعت شما الهام بخش است.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 11, 2020
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V. Saxena is a staff writer for BizPac Review with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University.
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