Author: Renju Jose and Alasdair Pal
SYDNEY, March 11 (Reuters) – Australian police helped two other members of the Iranian women’s football delegation escape and apply for asylum, but one of them changed his mind and decided to return to Iran, Australia’s home affairs minister said on Wednesday.
Concerns about the players’ safety upon their return have grown after Iranian state television labeled the team “wartime traitors” for refusing to sing the national anthem at a Women’s Asian Cup match in Australia earlier this month.
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke announced in parliament that 21-year-old forward Mohaddeseh Zolfi and support staff Zahra Soltan Moshkehkar accepted a public offer of government aid on Tuesday night, a day after five of the team’s players were granted asylum.
But Burke said “one of the two people who decided to stay last night changed his mind after talking to some of his teammates who were leaving,” without specifying who decided to return to Iran.
“In Australia, people are able to change their minds, people are able to travel. So we respect the context in which she made this decision.”
Burke said the remaining players had been moved to a safe location after members who overturned the decision contacted the Iranian embassy and revealed their locations.
Zulfi and Moshkekar were removed from the rest of the team with the help of the Australian Federal Police before boarding a domestic flight to Sydney.
Before leaving Australia, Australian officials separated the remaining team from Iranian caregivers at Sydney Airport and informed them of their options before they flew out of the country. All those arriving at the airport chose to return to Iran.
“What we ensure is that there is no rush, there is no pressure. It’s all about ensuring the dignity of these people’s choices,” Burke told a media briefing in Canberra.
fear of family
Burke said some players have asked him about the possibility of helping their families leave Iran.
“Obviously when people become permanent residents they have the right to sponsor other family members. But all of this only makes sense if people are able to leave Iran in the first place,” he said.
Some discussed their options with family but declined offers to stay in Australia. The team has since arrived in Kuala Lumpur to travel to Iran.
The Kuala Lumpur-based Asian Football Confederation confirmed the team’s arrival, saying they were staying at a hotel in the Malaysian capital but gave no details.
“The AFC will provide all necessary support to the team during their stay until their subsequent travel arrangements are confirmed,” an AFC spokesman said in a statement.
The Iranian embassy in Kuala Lumpur told Malaysian state news agency Bernama that the players were performing well and “wanted to go home”.
Iran’s campaign in the tournament began as the United States and Israel launched air strikes on Iran that killed the Islamic Republic’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. They were eliminated from Sunday’s game.
A group of Iranians living in Australia gathered to protest against the Iranian government and surrounded the players’ bus on the Gold Coast as they left their hotel for the airport.
Television footage showed scores of people at Sydney Airport on Tuesday night as they were moved to the international terminal.
Iran’s prosecutor general’s office said on Tuesday that the remaining members of the team were invited to return to the country “with peace and confidence,” Iranian media reported.
(Reporting by Renju Jose, Alasdair Pal and Christine Chen in Sydney; Additional reporting by Rozanna Latiff in Kuala Lumpur; Editing by Chris Reese, Stephen Coates and Saad Sayeed)