Date: 02 Mar 2000
Time: 07:50:07
Remote Name: 156.29.145.175
TEHRAN TIMES POLITICAL DESK TEHRAN -- The U.S. Wrestling Federation has accepted Iran's demand that the Iranian wrestlers should not be fingerprinted or photographed by the U.S. officials at the airport. The U.S. federation issued visa on Wednesday for the entire members of the Iranian Greco-Roman wrestling team. The inappropriate behavior shown by the U.S. immigration officials towards a group of Iranian scholars who arrived in Washington on Thursday, December 3, 1999, to participate in a cultural seminar led to the cancellation of the seminar. The six-member Iranian delegation, which comprised university professors and Islamic seminary instructors, traveled to the U.S. at the invitation of Georgetown University Department of Theology. The delegates were fingerprinted and photographed at the airport. The U.S. officials said that fingerprinting and photographing the citizens of Iran and other countries accused of fostering terrorism upon their arrival in the U.S. was a "standard procedure". However, the procedure cannot be considered as standard, as it is merely a humiliating act aimed at harming the prestige of the honorable Iranian people. Following Iran's demand that the U.S. officials should stop such inappropriate treatment, an Iranian national football team went to the U.S. when the American officials promised not to fingerprint and photograph them at the airport. The Iranian officials also said on Tuesday that the wrestling team which was in Istanbul for getting the U.S. visa would return to Iran if the U.S. officials were to fingerprint them, but the U.S. announced it would not fingerprint the Iranian wrestling team. The Iranian Greco-Roman wrestling team left Istanbul for Colorado in the United States Wednesday morning after receiving their entry visa, the federation announced. The Iranian team is scheduled to take part in the fourth round of competitions as arranged by the International Wrestling Federation (FILA) for determining the Sydney Olympic 2000 quota. The two-day wrestling contests will begin in Colorado Springs, state of Colorado, on Saturday. Hassan Rangraz (54 kg), Ali Ashkani (58 kg), Shahram Khaksar (63 kg), Mohammad Nikoonahad Hosseini (85 kg), Rasoul Jazini (97 kg) and Majid Varzandeh (130 kg) are members of the Iranian team. Hassan Babak, the head coach, Ahmad Pazaj, the coach, and Asghar Rambod, the referee, are accompanying the team as well as the team's doctor Abazar Habibinia and supervisor Mahmoud Hadad.