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Olympia 2021: Athlete forced to “violently leave the country”? Protection of Japan's police

2021-08-01T18:26:16.241Z


The Belarusian athlete Kristina Timanovskaya was forced to go home. At the airport, however, she managed to seek refuge with the Japanese police.


The Belarusian athlete Kristina Timanovskaya was forced to go home.

At the airport, however, she managed to seek refuge with the Japanese police.

Tokyo - The Olympic Games * are over for Belarusian athlete Kristina Timanowskaja.

But not because she left, but because she is said to have been critical of sports officials.

The 24-year-old is said to have been brought to the airport in Tokyo against her will.

The opposition Belarusian athletes' association Belarusian Sport Solidarity Foundation (BSSF) speaks of a "violent departure".

Their last resort was the Japanese police.

Olympia 2021: Athlete would have threatened prison in Belarus

"I'm safe now," Timanovskaya told the BSSF.

You are now under the protection of the Japanese police.

According to independent Belarusian media, she had previously been taken to the airport in Tokyo against her will.

The

athlete told the

Sport-Telegram

Tribuna

: “I am afraid that they might lock me in prison in Belarus.

I am not afraid that they will fire me or throw me out of the national team.

I'm afraid for my safety. ”And when she was asked at the airport whether she was afraid of flying to Belarus, she said“ yes ”.

Japanese police have arrived at the airport.

“I am with the police right now.

They are deciding what could be done ”- Tsimanouskaya.

pic.twitter.com/PPYHsvMYMi

- Tadeusz Giczan (@TadeuszGiczan) August 1, 2021

The Belarusian Olympic Committee (NOK) sees things very differently. The athlete had been examined by a doctor and would not take part in any further competitions because of her "emotional-psychological state", it was announced on Telegram. Timanovskaya called this a "lie" on Instagram. In

an interview with

the radio station

Euroradio

, she said: "You just told me to pack my things and fly home."

The reason for the dispute between the athlete and the committee is said to have been a complaint by the 24-year-old.

She was supposed to start the 4 x 400 meter relay * without her knowledge.

"Some of our girls are not here flown to take part in the 4x400-meter relay, because they did not have enough completed doping tests," Tsimanouskaya said at the airport news agency

Reuters

.

“And the coach accepted me into the relay without my knowledge.

I've spoken about it publicly.

The head coach came up to me and said there had been an order from above to remove me. "

Olympia 2021: Sportswoman wants to apply for asylum in Europe

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) also commented on the matter on Sunday. It asks the NOK to clarify the case. Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tichanovskaya welcomed the rapid IOC response. "It is important to investigate the violations of athletes' rights by the NOC," she wrote on Twitter. 

As the BSSF stated, the Belarusian athlete now wants to apply for asylum in Europe. Therefore I want to contact the Austrian embassy in Tokyo. In addition, the BSSF had given the IOC a list. It contains 65 cases and documents in which athletes, coaches and officials are said to have been exposed to systematic repression, according to the Spiegel. The cases ranged from imprisonment and the use of violence to job loss, suspension from the sports business and national teams.

(tel / dpa) * tz.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA

Source: merkur

All sports articles on 2021-08-01

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