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Should Belarusian athlete be kidnapped from Tokyo?

2021-08-01T17:26:13.605Z


The Belarusian Olympic runner Kristina Timanowskaja criticized the sports officials in her country - and was brought to Tokyo airport shortly afterwards. The opposition is convinced: the authoritarian Belarusian authorities wanted to kidnap Timanovskaya.


The Belarusian Olympic runner Kristina Timanowskaja criticized the sports officials in her country - and was brought to Tokyo airport shortly afterwards.

The opposition is convinced: the authoritarian Belarusian authorities wanted to kidnap Timanovskaya.

Tokyo - Excitement over a Belarusian athlete at the Olympic Games: According to the opposition, Kristina Timanovskaya should be kidnapped from Tokyo by the authoritarian authorities in her country.

After publicly criticizing Belarusian sports officials for being flown out of Japan against her will, the 24-year-old said in a video published by the opposition Belarusian athletes' association Belarusian Sport Solidarity Foundation (BSSF) on Sunday. The BSSF spoke of an attempted “violent” departure.

As pictures and reports from independent Belarusian media show, it had already been brought to Tokyo Airport. Numerous journalists gathered there that evening. Timanovskaya later told the BSSF that she was now under the protection of the Japanese police, to whom she had turned at the airport: "I am now safe." The young woman said she was looking for a place to sleep for the night had previously been housed in the Olympic Village.

The Belarusian Olympic Committee (NOK) had previously stated on Telegram that the athlete had been examined by a doctor and would not take part in any further competitions because of her "emotional and psychological state".

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 media reported that the athlete was already being advised on site by a lawyer who specializes in refugee law.

According to the BSSF, Timanovskaya wants to apply for asylum in Europe.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) said on request that it was monitoring the case and had asked the NOK for clarification.

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.

The runner should have started on Monday in the run over 200 meters.

She had previously expressed criticism of sports officials in her country.

The athlete suspected that other Belarusian athletes would not be able to compete because not enough negative doping samples had been submitted for them.

Alexander Lukashenko's Belarusian apparatus of power has repeatedly cracked down on critics and those who think differently. Most recently there had been raids against independent media and non-governmental organizations in which several people were arrested. The EU no longer recognizes Lukashenko, who has repeatedly been criticized as the “last dictator of Europe”, as head of state since the presidential election, which was widely regarded as falsified, around a year ago. Protests in the months following the election left several dead, hundreds injured and thousands arrested. dpa

Source: merkur

All news articles on 2021-08-01

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