From ‘Traitor’ to Hero? Iran release assets of women’s captain Zahra Ghanbari amid Australian asylum row

The Iranian women’s football team captain Zahra Ghanbari, whose assets the government authorities seized after she joined her five teammates and one member of the supporting staff in claiming asylum in Australia last month, has received a reprieve from Iran’s judiciary, which has ordered the release of those assets. Part of the Iranian side that participated in the now-concluded Women’s Asian Cup, Ghanbari sought refuge Down Under amid life threats over her team’s stance against singing the country’s national anthem as a form of silent protest and solidarity with domestic civil rights movements.

Amid the ongoing Israel-US war against the Islamic Republic, Zahraa, alongside five of her team members and a support-staff member, later changed her mind and returned home and was given a hero’s welcome at a special ceremony in central Tehran on March 19.

"The assets of Zahra Ghanbari, a footballer for the Iranian women's national team, which had been seized, were released by court decision," a statement, as quoted by AFP, states. It also adds that the move was taken after "a declaration of innocence following her behaviour change."

The announcement came two days after Iranian media published a list of people they called "traitors" whose assets had been frozen by court order following the outbreak of the war with Israel and the United States on February 28.

Ghanbari's name appeared on the list, although it was not immediately clear when the decision to freeze her assets had been taken. Rights groups have repeatedly accused Iranian authorities of pressuring athletes who compete abroad by threatening relatives or seizing property if they defect or make statements against the Islamic Republic.

In this case, campaigners accused Tehran of pressuring the women's families, including summoning their parents for interrogations by intelligence agents. Iranian authorities, however, alleged that Australia sought to force the athletes to defect.

The team had drawn criticism from hardliners in Iran after failing to sing the national anthem of the Islamic Republic before their first match. They sang the anthem in later matches, and it featured prominently in the welcome ceremony in Tehran.

The controversy, against the background of the war, erupted with the Iranian men's team due to play in the World Cup in the United States in June.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino told AFP last month in Turkey on the sidelines of an international friendly being played by Iran that "Iran will be at the World Cup" and play its group matches as scheduled in the US.

(With inputs from AFP)