Iranian judo champion granted asylum in Germany
'Because of the law in my country… I was obliged not to fight against my Israeli opponent,' Mollaei says
Germany has granted refugee status to Iranian judoka star Saeid Mollaei after claiming he was coerced by Iranian officials to withdraw from competition earlier this year in order to avoid fighting against an Israeli opponent.
Mollaei drew attention after he exposed and openly criticized his government for demanding that he not face Israeli Sagi Muki at the World Judo Championship in Tokyo on August 28.
Fearing the consequences, Mollaei sought to apply for asylum in Germany instead of putting himself at risk by returning home.
“Because of the law in my country… I was obliged not to fight against my Israeli opponent,” Mollaei told the International Judo Federation in an interview earlier this month, “They said: ‘This is the law, and those who do not comply with it will certainly have problems.'”
The International Judo Federation (IJF) said in a statement on Saturday that Mollaei had received official notice from the German Office for Migration and Refugees that he can now benefit from the status of “Recognized Refugee”.
Responding to the news, Mollaei said: “I am very happy and I want to thank from the bottom of my heart everybody who helped me in those difficult moments. Now I can fully concentrate on judo and the preparation for the next IJF events and for the Olympic Games.”
In response to Iran’s boycott of Israeli athletes, the IJF has banned Iran from international competitions indefinitely, "until the Iran Judo Federation gives strong guarantees and prove that they will respect the IJF Statutes and accept that their athletes fight against Israeli athletes”.