Tehran threatens Uk-based wrestler over hijab protest

AN IRANIAN wrestler who won gold medals for Scotland has reportedly been given police security after receiving death threats from the regime in Tehran.

Melika Balali, who moved to the UK last November, has been a vociferous critic of Iran’s crackdown on mass protests after thousands demanded basic human rights.

After joining the Scottish Wrestling Association, where she won a gold medal, she held up a sign at one ceremony which read: “Stop forcing hijab, I have the right to be a wrestler.”

According to the BBC, she has since received threats to her life, allegedly directly from the Iranian government. Her family have also cut ties with her since she moved to the UK, she says.

“They’ve tried to find where I’m living and who I’m practising with. But thanks to the police in Scotland... I have all kinds of security,” she told BBC Scotland’s The Nine.

Police Scotland told the BBC the online threats were made in June and that “enquiries were carried out and a safety plan is in place”.