afghan athlete found? (updated)

According to Britain’s Times Online, Mehbooba Andyar has resurfaced and is indeed on her way to Norway.  All emphases mine.

Fears ease after missing Afghan athlete found

Mahbooba Ahadgar, who was the only Afghan female scheduled to be competing in the Beijing Olympic Games next month, has resurfaced after going missing in Italy last week and is en route to Norway, where she will be seeking asylum.

When Ahadgar could not be found at her training camp in Formia on Thursday, there were fears that her disappearance may have been linked to a series of death threats that she had received at home from Muslim extremists, who are opposed to the concept of a woman running in the Olympics.

However, concerns for her family’s safety are not over because, since Ahadgar’s mysterious disappearance, her parents have been under so much pressure from the Afghan Olympic Committee in Kabul to get their daughter back into her spikes that they have been threatened with imprisonment. Her parents, though, were also in the dark as to her whereabouts until she phoned them on Tuesday.

Nothing says class like threatening with imprisonment the parents of a teenage girl who fled due to death threats from her own countrymen.  Super nice Afghan Olympic Committee.  Way to show that you are no better than your country’s Islamist terrorists.  Because no matter how you look at it, these were terrorist actions.

UPDATE from today’s Spiegel. All emphases mine.

Afghan Athlete Seeks Asylum in Europe

Mehboba Ahdyar was to be the poster-child for the Olympics but the 19-year-old Afghan runner ran away from an Italian training camp last week. She has since told her parents she is too scared of reprisals and plans to seek asylum in Europe.

…

But being in the international spotlight had attracted the wrong kind of attention. Although Ahdyar always ran in a headscarf and wore long tracksuit bottoms she still received death threats from extremists who objected to a Muslim woman taking part in sports at all.

When she received visits from Western media earlier this year, her neighbors called the police telling them she was obviously a prostitute working for foreign clients. Her father, a carpenter, even spent time in jail until the issue was cleared up.

…

Afghanistan is now fighting a resurgent Taliban and in a country where women are still regarded as second-class citizens, militants often target organizations and individuals who champion women’s issues.

…

However, Ahdyar contacted her family late last week. She told them that she was in Europe and would not be coming back. She said she was scared of reprisals because of her sports career. Her parents are now reportedly under pressure from members of the Afghan Olympic Committee, who say that if she does not come back they will be held responsible and could be thrown in jail.

As far as I have found, there has still been no sighting of Andyar… just additional reports that she did contact her family and that she’s seeking asylum.