A female Iranian rock climber who competed in South Korea without wearing a hijab is being sent straight to the notorious Evin Prison after returning home. 

Elnaz Rekabi, 33, competed at Seoul tournament on Sunday without her nation’s mandatory headscarf. 

A source told Iran Wire that Rekabi took the decision not to wear the covering in solidarity with the now five-week-long protests sparked by the death of a 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody.

The Iranian website also revealed she will be transferred to the prison – which was the site of a massive fire this weekend that killed at least eight prisoners. 

This afternoon Rekabi’s Instagram account posted: “I apologise about what I did to make you worry.” 

The post also claimed that she was rushed at the competition and described her as ‘unintentionally’ not wearing the hijab. 

The BBC’s Persian Service, which has extensive contracts within Iran despite being banned from operating there, quoted an unnamed ‘informed source’ who described Iranian officials as seizing both Rekabi’s mobile phone and passport. 

BBC Persian also said she had initially been scheduled to return from the competition on Wednesday but her flight had apparently been moved unexpectedly. 

In a Tweet, the Iranian Embassy in Seoul denied ‘all the fake, false news and disinformation’ regarding Rekabi’s departure on Tuesday.