1 00:00:01,880 --> 00:00:05,920 S1: It reads like something out of a Hollywood script. Five 2 00:00:05,920 --> 00:00:10,000 S1: female Iranian soccer players in Australia competing for the Asian Cup. 3 00:00:10,400 --> 00:00:13,520 S1: Escaping from their handlers in the night to seek refuge 4 00:00:13,520 --> 00:00:15,960 S1: from their home country, which is in the middle of 5 00:00:15,960 --> 00:00:20,279 S1: a war with the US and Israel. Another two women, 6 00:00:20,320 --> 00:00:22,840 S1: a player and a member of the team's support staff, 7 00:00:23,000 --> 00:00:25,360 S1: made the decision to join them a day later and 8 00:00:25,360 --> 00:00:30,360 S1: also remain in Australia. I'm Samantha Cylinder Morris, and you're 9 00:00:30,360 --> 00:00:33,080 S1: listening to the Morning Edition from The Age and The 10 00:00:33,080 --> 00:00:37,960 S1: Sydney Morning Herald. Today. Crime and justice reporter Amber Schultz 11 00:00:38,000 --> 00:00:40,960 S1: joins us from Malaysia, where she has been tracking the 12 00:00:40,960 --> 00:00:48,839 S1: rest of the team on their journey home to Iran. So, Amber, 13 00:00:48,840 --> 00:00:51,000 S1: first off, can you just tell our listeners and our 14 00:00:51,000 --> 00:00:53,680 S1: viewers if they're watching this where you are? 15 00:00:54,320 --> 00:00:57,240 S2: So I'm currently in Kuala Lumpur, which is where the 16 00:00:57,240 --> 00:01:00,920 S2: Iranian football team, the lioness, departed from their flight from Sydney. 17 00:01:00,920 --> 00:01:02,910 S2: So we're all in the same city here in Malaysia. 18 00:01:03,950 --> 00:01:06,230 S1: And okay, so we've seen the headlines, but can you 19 00:01:06,230 --> 00:01:08,750 S1: just remind us what this story is all about and 20 00:01:08,750 --> 00:01:11,470 S1: how it's unfolded such that you have now, you know, 21 00:01:11,510 --> 00:01:14,069 S1: raced off to to fly to Kuala Lumpur? 22 00:01:14,790 --> 00:01:17,910 S2: So the Iranian soccer players came to Australia to play 23 00:01:17,950 --> 00:01:21,030 S2: part of the Asia Cup. And during their match, they 24 00:01:21,030 --> 00:01:24,550 S2: refused to sing the national anthem or salute. And that 25 00:01:24,550 --> 00:01:27,509 S2: led Iranian media to call them wartime traitors, which means 26 00:01:27,510 --> 00:01:31,030 S2: that they could face some very, very serious ramifications and 27 00:01:31,030 --> 00:01:36,270 S2: persecution at home in Iran following their last match. There 28 00:01:36,270 --> 00:01:39,510 S2: was sort of this dazzling escape where five of them 29 00:01:39,510 --> 00:01:42,990 S2: managed to to slip out of the watchful eye of 30 00:01:43,030 --> 00:01:46,030 S2: their chaperones and meet with Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke 31 00:01:46,550 --> 00:01:49,390 S2: and get visas. That number has now increased to seven. 32 00:01:49,390 --> 00:01:51,870 S2: So there are seven players that have stayed while the 33 00:01:51,870 --> 00:01:53,390 S2: remaining have returned to Iran. 34 00:01:53,430 --> 00:01:56,870 S3: And an incredible escape. The Iranian women's soccer team is 35 00:01:56,870 --> 00:02:00,630 S3: tonight at the centre of an international asylum drama. 36 00:02:01,030 --> 00:02:04,250 S1: And I believe there was some dramatic scenes of tension 37 00:02:04,250 --> 00:02:07,170 S1: when these players actually were about to board the bus 38 00:02:07,450 --> 00:02:09,130 S1: from the Gold Coast to leave. 39 00:02:09,530 --> 00:02:12,369 S2: There were. So there were protesters trying to stop these 40 00:02:12,370 --> 00:02:14,850 S2: women from leaving, and they were yelling, save our girls! 41 00:02:17,169 --> 00:02:19,650 S2: There was also one woman who seemed to be led 42 00:02:19,650 --> 00:02:22,329 S2: by the arm, by another woman, maybe showing that she 43 00:02:22,330 --> 00:02:24,530 S2: didn't want to board that bus. A lot of the 44 00:02:24,530 --> 00:02:28,050 S2: advocates as well, have interpreted messages that they've been getting 45 00:02:28,050 --> 00:02:30,450 S2: from the girls, such as flashing their phones as their 46 00:02:30,450 --> 00:02:33,210 S2: bus was on the tarmac at the airport, as SOS 47 00:02:33,250 --> 00:02:36,530 S2: signals or as trying to communicate. They've also been sending 48 00:02:36,530 --> 00:02:39,490 S2: messages to the women via Instagram and WhatsApp, and while 49 00:02:39,490 --> 00:02:42,850 S2: the women haven't replied, they have given love heart emojis 50 00:02:42,850 --> 00:02:46,850 S2: or reacted emojis, which again, the Iranians in Australia are interpreting, 51 00:02:46,889 --> 00:02:50,250 S2: as you know, acts of solidarity or cries for help. 52 00:02:50,650 --> 00:02:52,930 S1: And so given that SOS hand gesture, that sort of 53 00:02:52,970 --> 00:02:55,089 S1: brings to mind that there were members of this team 54 00:02:55,090 --> 00:02:58,050 S1: that perhaps would have liked to escape along with the 55 00:02:58,090 --> 00:03:00,929 S1: five and then seven members of the delegation that did 56 00:03:00,930 --> 00:03:03,209 S1: manage to stay in Australia. So do we know what 57 00:03:03,210 --> 00:03:07,120 S1: the mindset was of the team members who didn't flee. 58 00:03:07,160 --> 00:03:08,799 S1: Did they want to flee? Did some of them want 59 00:03:08,840 --> 00:03:11,320 S1: to flee and just weren't able to physically? Do we 60 00:03:11,320 --> 00:03:12,280 S1: know what's happened there? 61 00:03:12,760 --> 00:03:15,640 S2: Getting those five women alone, those initial five women alone 62 00:03:15,639 --> 00:03:20,680 S2: was incredibly difficult because they are chaperoned everywhere they go. Um, 63 00:03:20,680 --> 00:03:23,040 S2: so to be able to get those five separate from 64 00:03:23,040 --> 00:03:25,600 S2: everyone else to meet with, with Home Affairs Minister Tony 65 00:03:25,600 --> 00:03:28,919 S2: Burke was a huge challenge in itself. You know, it's 66 00:03:28,960 --> 00:03:31,600 S2: also hard to say some of those women might have 67 00:03:31,600 --> 00:03:34,960 S2: really wanted to stay, but couldn't because of the the 68 00:03:35,000 --> 00:03:38,400 S2: risk that may have the risk that that presented to 69 00:03:38,440 --> 00:03:40,960 S2: their family or the potential risk that that presented to 70 00:03:41,000 --> 00:03:44,160 S2: their family. There was also, as we saw, one woman 71 00:03:44,160 --> 00:03:47,120 S2: being led onto the bus by her teammate. And as 72 00:03:47,120 --> 00:03:49,000 S2: I saw at the airport, another woman sort of being 73 00:03:49,000 --> 00:03:52,280 S2: gently taken by the hand and led towards the boarding gate. 74 00:03:52,280 --> 00:03:54,960 S2: So it's not clear whether those women, you know, really 75 00:03:54,960 --> 00:03:57,520 S2: could have stuck their haunches in and refused to go, 76 00:03:57,520 --> 00:03:59,920 S2: or whether there were other factors at play, such as 77 00:03:59,960 --> 00:04:03,160 S2: that risk to to their loved ones that maybe propelled them, 78 00:04:03,160 --> 00:04:05,960 S2: pushed them onto the onto the bus and onto the plane. 79 00:04:06,830 --> 00:04:09,110 S1: And so, okay, like you said, it's now a total 80 00:04:09,110 --> 00:04:12,350 S1: of seven members of the team that have remained in 81 00:04:12,350 --> 00:04:15,670 S1: Australia escaping from your reminders, just like you've said, that 82 00:04:15,670 --> 00:04:18,910 S1: was on the Gold Coast to seek asylum here. But 83 00:04:18,910 --> 00:04:22,150 S1: you then jumped on a flight with the remaining athletes 84 00:04:22,150 --> 00:04:24,430 S1: who were returning back to Iran. So tell us what 85 00:04:24,430 --> 00:04:25,469 S1: that flight was like. 86 00:04:25,910 --> 00:04:29,190 S2: It was interesting. So there were also protesters in Sydney 87 00:04:29,190 --> 00:04:31,430 S2: and a lot of media in Sydney, but they were 88 00:04:31,430 --> 00:04:35,469 S2: really being chaperoned and I suppose protected by police from 89 00:04:35,470 --> 00:04:39,909 S2: that protest activity. So there were being shuttled around, um, 90 00:04:39,910 --> 00:04:42,070 S2: through back doors and a little bit in secret. But 91 00:04:42,070 --> 00:04:45,390 S2: once they made it past security at the airport, which 92 00:04:45,390 --> 00:04:47,310 S2: is the point that you need a ticket to the flight, 93 00:04:47,310 --> 00:04:49,349 S2: there was no one else there except for me to, 94 00:04:49,390 --> 00:04:52,589 S2: to talk to them before we boarded the flight, all 95 00:04:52,589 --> 00:04:55,510 S2: of the women had an opportunity to talk with Australian 96 00:04:55,510 --> 00:04:58,349 S2: Border Force. And so I saw the the officers take 97 00:04:58,390 --> 00:05:01,469 S2: that stack of passports into another room. And Home Affairs 98 00:05:01,470 --> 00:05:04,789 S2: Minister Tony Burke confirmed that each was spoken to and 99 00:05:04,790 --> 00:05:07,590 S2: asked whether, you know, they were making this decision and 100 00:05:07,589 --> 00:05:09,450 S2: whether they wanted to make this decision. 101 00:05:09,770 --> 00:05:12,810 S4: We couldn't take away the pressure of the context for 102 00:05:12,810 --> 00:05:17,330 S4: these individuals of what might have been said to them beforehand, 103 00:05:17,730 --> 00:05:20,170 S4: what pressures they might have felt were there on other 104 00:05:20,170 --> 00:05:21,010 S4: family members. 105 00:05:21,770 --> 00:05:25,330 S2: Right as final boarding call was being announced, one of 106 00:05:25,330 --> 00:05:28,250 S2: the women walked away with police to have a conversation, 107 00:05:28,250 --> 00:05:30,490 S2: and it looked like she was not going to get 108 00:05:30,490 --> 00:05:33,010 S2: on the flight. Um, it turns out that she was 109 00:05:33,010 --> 00:05:36,170 S2: having a final conversation with her family, which in Iranian 110 00:05:36,170 --> 00:05:38,890 S2: blackout state is not easy to do. So that was 111 00:05:38,890 --> 00:05:43,170 S2: facilitated by the Australian government. But ultimately, she decided to board. 112 00:05:43,170 --> 00:05:45,610 S2: So there was a lot of tension, a lot of 113 00:05:45,610 --> 00:05:49,170 S2: conflicting emotions. And some of the women walked on board 114 00:05:49,170 --> 00:05:50,850 S2: the flight covered in tears. 115 00:05:51,330 --> 00:05:53,450 S1: And so tell us you're then on the plane. Did 116 00:05:53,450 --> 00:05:55,490 S1: any of the women speak to you? Did any of 117 00:05:55,490 --> 00:05:58,370 S1: them show signs of not wanting to be there, or 118 00:05:58,370 --> 00:06:00,290 S1: was it quite the opposite? Were they showing signs of 119 00:06:00,290 --> 00:06:03,130 S1: relief that you know, that they'd escaped what must have 120 00:06:03,130 --> 00:06:06,050 S1: been a very intense experience in Australia? 121 00:06:06,210 --> 00:06:08,089 S2: So before we boarded the flight, I spoke to a 122 00:06:08,089 --> 00:06:11,440 S2: few of the women. They did say that, you know, 123 00:06:11,640 --> 00:06:13,960 S2: Iran was their home. They wanted to return home and 124 00:06:13,960 --> 00:06:16,400 S2: they really wanted to see their families. Um, all of 125 00:06:16,400 --> 00:06:19,600 S2: them gave me the same answer, which made me think 126 00:06:19,720 --> 00:06:23,360 S2: perhaps there was a line that was being pushed. And 127 00:06:23,360 --> 00:06:25,920 S2: they spoke quite freely to me, you know, with with 128 00:06:25,920 --> 00:06:29,320 S2: that line describing their wish to see their family. Once 129 00:06:29,320 --> 00:06:31,560 S2: we got on the flight, I tried to approach a 130 00:06:31,560 --> 00:06:34,680 S2: few to ask them about who the remaining two or 131 00:06:34,680 --> 00:06:38,239 S2: the additional two players who stayed in Brisbane were, and 132 00:06:38,240 --> 00:06:40,560 S2: one of them just became really solemn. And she said, 133 00:06:40,560 --> 00:06:43,279 S2: I'm sorry, I cannot speak to you. I'm not allowed 134 00:06:43,279 --> 00:06:46,080 S2: to say so. It felt like as the flight got 135 00:06:46,080 --> 00:06:49,880 S2: further away from Australia, the tension rose and the women 136 00:06:50,080 --> 00:06:53,440 S2: maybe felt a little less free to speak. Saying that though, 137 00:06:53,440 --> 00:06:56,760 S2: any time they spoke to me, a chaperone intervened or 138 00:06:56,760 --> 00:07:00,360 S2: they deferred, or they were saying, you know, the same line. Um, 139 00:07:00,360 --> 00:07:02,839 S2: so they certainly weren't weren't free to give their opinion. 140 00:07:03,520 --> 00:07:06,680 S1: Okay. And so we are recording this Wednesday at lunchtime. 141 00:07:06,680 --> 00:07:09,840 S1: You are still in Kuala Lumpur. Do you have any 142 00:07:09,840 --> 00:07:13,150 S1: sense of what happens to this group now? Will they 143 00:07:13,150 --> 00:07:16,150 S1: just fly home to Iran? And what do we know, 144 00:07:16,150 --> 00:07:19,030 S1: if anything, about how they and their families might be 145 00:07:19,030 --> 00:07:22,070 S1: treated by the Iranian regime once they arrive? 146 00:07:23,150 --> 00:07:25,790 S2: So the women are currently in Kuala Lumpur. They'll be 147 00:07:25,790 --> 00:07:28,830 S2: taking a flight to Turkey. I'm told it's not clear 148 00:07:29,110 --> 00:07:32,510 S2: whether that flight is this evening or tomorrow, but from Turkey, 149 00:07:32,510 --> 00:07:36,110 S2: they'll then take another flight to Iran. It's really unclear 150 00:07:36,230 --> 00:07:39,990 S2: what sort of repercussions they'll face in Iran. There were 151 00:07:39,990 --> 00:07:42,990 S2: rumors circulating from some of the advocates who said that 152 00:07:42,990 --> 00:07:46,350 S2: they had been in contact with the families in Iran. Um, 153 00:07:46,350 --> 00:07:50,590 S2: one said that allegedly one of the soccer players, family 154 00:07:50,590 --> 00:07:52,989 S2: members had already been detained. So there is a risk 155 00:07:52,990 --> 00:07:55,350 S2: that there's sort of a punishment, a wider punishment to 156 00:07:55,350 --> 00:07:59,310 S2: the families. There's also a voice note circulating purporting to 157 00:07:59,310 --> 00:08:02,390 S2: be from one of the the women's mothers saying, don't 158 00:08:02,390 --> 00:08:06,110 S2: come home. It's not safe. Seek shelter in Australia. Um, 159 00:08:06,110 --> 00:08:09,310 S2: so it's unclear whether either of these claims are legitimate, 160 00:08:09,310 --> 00:08:12,820 S2: but either way, it's a really scary situation. And these women, 161 00:08:12,860 --> 00:08:16,980 S2: you know, may face real consequences for their decision not 162 00:08:16,980 --> 00:08:19,500 S2: to sing the national anthem and for their association with 163 00:08:19,500 --> 00:08:20,820 S2: those who decided to stay. 164 00:08:22,420 --> 00:08:25,020 S1: And so, Amber, finally, why do you think this story 165 00:08:25,060 --> 00:08:28,460 S1: has captured our attention to the degree that it has? 166 00:08:28,620 --> 00:08:31,140 S1: What is it about what's happening with these women? 167 00:08:31,180 --> 00:08:34,340 S2: I think Iran has been a point of interest for 168 00:08:34,340 --> 00:08:37,500 S2: a while, because the revolution was such a massive regime 169 00:08:37,540 --> 00:08:40,940 S2: change and such a massive shift. And then I think 170 00:08:40,980 --> 00:08:43,459 S2: as well, the the ongoing news about the brutality of 171 00:08:43,460 --> 00:08:48,059 S2: the regime has obviously, you know, captured, captured the world's attention. 172 00:08:48,179 --> 00:08:51,780 S2: Coupled with these current strikes from the US and Israel, 173 00:08:51,820 --> 00:08:53,780 S2: you know, there's a lot of concern about what's happening 174 00:08:53,780 --> 00:08:56,740 S2: in Iran, both what's being perpetrated by the government and 175 00:08:56,740 --> 00:09:01,300 S2: what people are being exposed to. And I think understanding 176 00:09:01,300 --> 00:09:05,579 S2: how many risks they faced, understanding how oppressive this regime is, 177 00:09:06,059 --> 00:09:09,500 S2: just the, I suppose, heroism and courage of these women to, 178 00:09:09,700 --> 00:09:12,780 S2: number one, defy the regime by by not singing the 179 00:09:12,780 --> 00:09:16,000 S2: national anthem and number two, by deciding to flee. I 180 00:09:16,000 --> 00:09:19,360 S2: think it's, um, you know, it's, it's an act of 181 00:09:19,360 --> 00:09:20,760 S2: courage that we don't often see. 182 00:09:22,240 --> 00:09:24,960 S1: Well, thank you so much, Amber, for your time. 183 00:09:24,960 --> 00:09:25,600 S2: Thank you. 184 00:09:28,120 --> 00:09:30,840 S1: Since we recorded this episode, one of the seven women 185 00:09:30,840 --> 00:09:34,760 S1: has decided to return to Iran. Home Affairs Minister Tony 186 00:09:34,760 --> 00:09:38,200 S1: Burke told Parliament on Wednesday afternoon that a 21 year 187 00:09:38,240 --> 00:09:42,320 S1: old player contacted Iranian officials on Wednesday morning and asked 188 00:09:42,320 --> 00:09:45,480 S1: to be collected. Burke said that the six other women 189 00:09:45,480 --> 00:09:52,160 S1: are being housed in a secure location. Today's episode of 190 00:09:52,160 --> 00:09:55,720 S1: The Morning Edition was produced by Julia Carcasole. Our executive 191 00:09:55,720 --> 00:09:59,479 S1: producer is Tammy Mills. Tom McKendrick is our head of audio. 192 00:09:59,920 --> 00:10:02,440 S1: To listen to our episodes as soon as they drop, 193 00:10:02,440 --> 00:10:06,040 S1: follow the Morning Edition on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you 194 00:10:06,040 --> 00:10:10,800 S1: listen to podcasts. I'm Samantha Selinger Morris, thanks for listening.