Greek authorities release Pakistani woman athlete after two-day detention

This photo, shared by member of the Provincial Assembly of Sindh Sharjeel Inam Memon on May 18, 2024 on social media platform X, shows Pakistani marathon runner and journalist Mona Khan in Greece. (Photo courtesy: X/@sharjeelinam)

• Mona Khan, who also works with Pakistan state TV, was arrested on Friday while going to Greece’s Mount Olympus with a team of climbers
• Pakistani athlete says she was arrested ‘due to her Pakistani identity, questioned about a written profession of Islamic faith in her bag’

KARACHI: Pakistani woman athlete and journalist Mona Khan, who was arrested in Greece this week, has been released from prison, she said on Sunday, a day after the Pakistani Foreign Office said its mission was actively engaged with Greek authorities on the case.
Khan said she was stopped by Greek officials at a checkpoint on Friday afternoon, when she was going to Mount Olympus along with a team of climbers, and upon checking her passport, Greek authorities held her for investigation, from where they took her to jail.
The athlete, who also works with Pakistan’s state TV as a host and participated in the Athens marathon last year, said she wanted to wave the Pakistan flag and Kalima Tayyaba, a profession of the Islamic faith written on a cloth piece that means “there is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah,” on the highest mountain peak in Greece, some 433 kilometers away from Athens.
On Saturday, Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, a spokesperson for Pakistan’s Foreign Office, told Arab News the Pakistani mission in Athens was actively engaged with Greek officials to secure the release of the Pakistani athlete.
Speaking to Arab News after her release on Sunday, the Pakistani athlete said her release was “conditional” even though she had violated no rules of the host country, while she would also not be able to return to Greece for five years.
“They arrested me just when they saw my Pakistani passport and later questioned me when they found Kalima Tayyaba in my bag,” Khan said. “I am completely clueless as to why they arrested me, deprived me of a chance to accomplish my goal, and then asked me to leave.”
She said she was asked to sign documents that she would not enter another European country despite having visas and would return to Pakistan within 20 days.
“It’s my right to know what laws I have violated,” Khan said. “I was there for a healthy activity, but what happened to me caused me mental stress.”
Greek authorities have not issued any statement on Khan’s detention, while the Pakistani Foreign Office spokesperson did not respond, when asked about reasons for her detention and whether Pakistan planned to lodge a protest with Greek authorities in case Khan had not violated any laws of the host country.
“Jailed for doing nothing and just because of being Pakistani,” Khan said, after reuniting with her son, who was waiting for her to return after completing the mission to wave the Pakistani flag and the Islamic scripture on Mount Olympus.
“He asked for the video where I was supposed to wave the flag. I didn’t end his excitement and didn’t tell him about my ordeal.”