Iran Judoka Seeks Asylum

(ATR) Iranian judoka Saeid Mollaei is seeking asylum in Germany after claiming he and his family were threatened by the Iranian government.

Mollaei said he was ordered not to compete in the final rounds of the IJF Judo World Championship last week in Tokyo. He says the order came from the Iranian government and the head of the country’s national Olympic committee.

The objective was to prevent the world number-one from competing against an Israeli for the gold medal. Iranian law prohibits athletes from competing against Israelis.

Mollaei revealed the efforts to dissuade him from competing after losing his semi-final match August 28. Mollaei now says he only gave "10 percent" effort in losing the match against Belgium’s Mathias Casse.

Had he been victorious, Mollaei would have competed against Israeli Sagi Muki for the gold medal in the under-81kg category. Muki defeated Casse to become the first Israeli man to win a judo world championship.

Muki had already been subject to an anti-Israel snub earlier in the day in his semi-final round. Loser Mohamed Abdelaal of Egypt refused to shake Muki’s hand in the post-fight protocols.

IJF President Marius Vizer is reported to be "enraged" by the attempts of the Iranian government to influence Mollaei in Tokyo. Vizer is said to havecontacted Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to warn that the IOC could strip recognition of Iran for the Tokyo Olympics if Mollaei complied with the demands from his government.

"After learning about the case, the IOC has requested a full report from IJF. Based on this report we will further evaluate the situation," says a brief statement from the IOC to Around the Rings.

In May, Vizer received letters from the Iran Judo Federation proclaiming that its athletes would no longer engage in anti-Israeli behavior at international judo events. A few weeks later, the Iran federation said it was not possible to comply with that pledge.

Mollaei is now reported to be in Germany where he is said to be seeking asylum. He received assistance from Vizer and the IJF for the private flight which whisked him away from Japan.

News channel Iran International says Vizer was communicating with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and charges the drama with Mollaei "was a conspiracy of the IJF and Israel".

Israeli Army Radio reports that the Iran Olympic committee is expected to file a complaint to the IOC.

In the same report, Muki is quoted describing Mollaei as an "excellent" sportsman.

The IJF has released an extensive accounting of the events from August 28 that underscores the drama faced by Mollaei and the federation.

Reported by Ed Hula.