Soccer star says his family stopped leaving Iran for supporting protests

Ali Daei, a former top footballer, said his wife and daughter were prevented from leaving Iran on Monday after their plane crashed made an unannounced stopover en route to Dubai.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - A prominent former soccer player in Iran who has voiced support for anti-government protests has said that his wife and daughter were prevented from leaving the country on Monday after their plane made an unexpected stop en route to Dubai.

Ali Daei, who had his own passport briefly confiscated earlier this year, said his wife and daughter left the capital, Tehran, legally before the flight made an unannounced stopover on the island of Kish in the Persian Gulf, where they were questioned by Iranian authorities.

He said his daughter e had been released but the doors to the flight were closed at the time. He said his family planned to fly to Dubai and return next week.

Flight tracking website Flightradar24 showed that flight W563 from Mahan Air was diverted to the island of Kish, which is part of Iran. , before heading to Dubai a few hours later.

There was no comment from the airline or the Iranian authorities.

The semi-official Tasnim news agency, considered close to the Revolutionary Guards, said a travel ban was imposed on Mr Daei's wife at the start of the months because of his support for the protests. He said she tried to circumvent the ban illegally, without giving further details, and that her final destination was the United States.

Mr. Daei is one of many Iranian celebrities who have shown their support for the protests, which were sparked by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in September. The Kurdish woman died after being arrested by Iranian vice police in Tehran for allegedly breaking the country's strict dress code for women.

The protests escalated. quickly spread across the country and turned into calls for the overthrow of the theocracy established after the 1979 revolution, making it one of the greatest challenges to clerical rule in more than four decades.

< p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">At least 507 protesters have been killed and more than 18,500 people have been arrested, according to Human Rights Activists in Iran, a group that has been monitoring the unrest closely. Iranian authorities have not released figures on those killed or arrested.

Iran has also executed protesters, including a 23-year-old man who was hanged in public earlier this month.

Before his passport was confiscated, Mr. Daei, one of the top international scorers and former captain of the Iranian team, urged the government on social networks to "solve the problems of the Iranian people rather than resorting to repression, violence and arrests."