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MOSCOW, Oct 18 Iranian climber Elnaz Rekabi returns to Iran amid reports that she may face persecution at home because of her performance at international competitions without a hijab. On Sunday, Rekabi participated in the Asian Climbing Championships in Seoul, finishing fourth in the all-around. Before the ascent, the 33-year-old athlete gathered her hair in a ponytail. In Iran, women are required to wear a headscarf that covers their hair, neck and shoulders in public places. The BBC writes that on Monday, Rekabi's family and friends lost contact with the athlete after she said she was with an Iranian official. On Tuesday, the Iranian embassy in South Korea said she had flown to Tehran. At the same time, Sky, citing a source, reports that the athlete’s passport and mobile phone were taken from her. In addition, the BBC notes that the athlete was originally supposed to fly to Iran on Wednesday, but ended up leaving for her homeland a day earlier. The Iranian Embassy said it «strongly rejects all fake news and false information about Ms. Elnaz Rekabi» .Rekabi became the second Iranian athlete to compete in public competitions without a hijab. Before that, Sadaf Khadem did this in 2019 at a boxing tournament. In Iran, women can play professional sports on the condition that they are coached by a woman and compete wearing the hijab. There have been protests and riots in Iran for several weeks earlier. Residents blamed the vice police for the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who was detained for wearing a headscarf incorrectly. According to the official version, the girl had a heart attack during interrogation.