5 members of the Iranian girls’s soccer staff have left the staff’s coaching camp and have efficiently sought refuge in Australia.
The workplace of Iran’s exiled crown prince Reza Pahlavi stated he has been informed the gamers – Fatemeh Pasandideh, Zahra Ghanbari, Zahra Sarbali, Atefeh Ramazanzadeh, and Mona Hamoudi – at the moment are in a ‘protected location’.
The 5 gamers have been moved to the protected home, managed by the Australian Federal Police and different authorities, from their Gold Coast resort earlier on Monday.
Writing on X, Pahlavi added: ‘These 5 brave athletes, at present in a protected location, have introduced that they’ve joined Iran’s nationwide Lion and Solar Revolution.’
The Lion and Solar consult with Iran’s authentic flag, which predates the 1979 Islamic Revolution and is used at the moment as a logo of resistance in opposition to the present regime.
This newest replace comes amid uncertainty over the gamers’ future after they have been branded ‘traitors’ by Iranian media for refusing to sing the nationwide anthem earlier than a recreation in opposition to South Korea on the Asian Cup final week, which is being hosted in Australia.
Iran’s state-controlled tv instantly labelled the gamers’ silent protest ‘the top of dishonour’ and ‘the peak of shamelessness and betrayal.’
Iranian gamers, goalkeeper Raha Yazdani (proper), Melika Motevalli (center) and Fatemeh Amineh (left), salute throughout the nationwide anthem earlier than their match with the Philippines
Gamers contained in the bus filmed the protest (pictured) and at the least one reportedly gave the worldwide sign for SOS
Presenter Mohammad Reza Shahbazi warned on air: ‘In instances of warfare, traitors have to be handled extra harshly. Anybody who takes even a single step in opposition to the nation throughout wartime should face stronger penalties.’
The staff has not made any official assertion on their stance, however they sang and saluted the nationwide anthem of their following two video games in opposition to Australia and the Philippines, elevating concern that that they had been compelled to take action.
The Iranian girls’s competitors got here to an finish on Sunday night time after they have been crushed 2-0 by the Philipppines in Queensland. After the match, round 200 protestors surrounded the staff bus, banging on it and chanting ‘allow them to go’ as police pushed the group again.
One of many Iranian gamers could possibly be seen performing the worldwide SOS misery sign from contained in the staff bus, based on reviews. She tucked her thumb into her palm and folded her fingers down over it – the recognised signal that somebody is pleading for assist.
The staff have been staying on the Royal Pines resort on the Gold Coast and are because of depart Australia later this week.
Pahlavi, an Iranian dissident in exile within the US, had earlier stated the staff faces an ‘ongoing menace’ following their opting to not sing the anthem.
‘Because of their courageous act of civil disobedience in refusing to sing the present regime’s nationwide anthem, they face dire penalties ought to they return to Iran,’ he wrote on social media.
The Australian authorities have come underneath appreciable stress to make sure the staff’s welfare is protected following the tip of their match.
After their closing match in opposition to the Philippines, round 200 protestors surrounded the staff bus, banging on it and chanting ‘allow them to go’ as police pushed the group again
Group teams have written to Dwelling Affairs Minister Tony Burke, pleading with him to intervene on behalf of the ladies.
Rana Dadpour, the founding father of Australian girls’s rights group AUSIRAN, stated authorities officers ought to organise non-public conferences with the staff members earlier than they depart the nation, warning they may face execution in the event that they return dwelling.
‘We have to speak with these women away from the handlers and the regime-affiliated people who find themselves following them proper now in Australia,’ she stated.
‘In the event that they need to keep, I feel we have to present them with each help that we will.’
Whereas authorities officers have been reluctant to debate the staff’s plight, fearing the publicity may put the ladies and their households at additional danger, Ms Dadpour stated world stress was usually efficient on the Iranian regime.
‘We have had many circumstances of execution orders which were beforehand delayed or stopped solely due to the worldwide stress and media consideration,’ she stated.
