Iranian chess player who competed without hijab meets with Spanish PM

Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez meets with Iranian chess player Sara Khadem in Madrid, Spain, January 25, 2023. Moncloa Palace/ Borja Puig de la Bellacasa /Handout via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. MANDATORY CREDIT

MADRID (Reuters) - An Iranian chess player who defected to Spain after she competed without a hijab and was warned not to return to her country met with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez in Madrid on Wednesday.

Sarasadat Khademalsharieh, 25, better known as Sara Khadem, arrived in Spain in early January. She had taken part in the FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Chess Championships held in Kazakhstan's Almaty in late December without a hijab - a headscarf mandatory under Iran's strict Islamic dress codes.