Sprinter from Belarus: opposition leader names case "attempted kidnapping"

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Krystsina Tsimanouskaya at Haneda Airport in Tokyo: She has sought protection from the police

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ISSEI KATO / REUTERS

The exiled Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya has described the case of the Belarusian sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya as an "attempted kidnapping".

Tsimanouskaya was apparently due to be flown home early from the Tokyo Olympics against her will on Sunday evening after she publicly criticized her country's sports officials. The 24-year-old said she was brought to the airport by representatives of the national team. There she then sought protection from the police so as not to have to get on the plane.

Opposition leader Tsikhanouskaya compared the incident to the forced landing of a plane in Minsk in May to arrest the dissident journalist Roman Protassevich and his girlfriend and suggested that everyone involved in the "attempted kidnapping" of Tsimanouskaya be placed on the EU and the EU sanctions lists USA are set. "No Belarusian who has left the Belarusian borders is safe because he can be kidnapped, just like Krystsina Tsimanouskaya or Roman Protasevich," she wrote on Telegram.

Tsimanouskaya, 24, who was due to compete in the 200-meter run on Monday, told Reuters that she had no plans to return to her country. She sought the protection of the Japanese police at Tokyo's Haneda Airport so that she would not have to take the flight on late Sunday evening. A video from Tokyo Airport showing several Olympic volunteers and police officers spread on Twitter. When asked whether she was afraid of flying to Belarus, Tsimanouskaya answered "yes".

The sprinter then asked the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for help.

“There is pressure on me.

They are trying to take me out of the country without my permission.

I ask the IOC to get involved, ”Tsimanouskaya said in a video the Belarusian Sport Solidarity Foundation (BSSF) posted on Telegram;

the group supports athletes who are persecuted for their political views.

Opposition leader Tsikhanouskaya called on the IOC to look into the athlete's case.

"She has a right to international protection and to continue participating in the @Olympic Games," tweeted Tsikhanouskaya.

"It is also vital that the Belarusian National Olympic Committee investigate violations of athletes' rights."

BSSF Director Alexander Apeikin confirmed to SPIEGEL that Tsimanouskaya had found protection with the police and now wanted to apply for political asylum in Austria or Poland.

On request, the International Olympic Committee informed SPIEGEL that the IOC had contacted the athlete and that the NOC had "asked for clarification."

IOC had already sanctioned Belarus in December

Tsimanouskaya had already taken part in the preliminaries over 100 meters on Friday and should also start over the 200 meters on Monday.

She had complained about her use in the 4x400 meter relay after some members of the team were not eligible for the Olympic Games due to a lack of doping tests.

As a result, there was a campaign against her in the Belarusian media.

"Some of our girls did not fly here to take part in the 4x400 meter relay because they had not passed enough doping tests," Tsimanouskaya told Reuters at the airport. “And the trainer accepted me into the squadron 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. "

The International Olympic Committee had already suspended several members of the National Olympic Committee (NOK) of Belarus in December - including Alexander Lukashenko, who is president and at the same time chairman of the NOK.

In doing so, the IOC followed the demands of Belarusian and international athlete associations.

Athletes and sports officials had repeatedly complained to the IOC of human rights violations by the Belarusian leadership.

Lukashenko's successor as NOK President was his son Viktor Lukashenko at the end of February.

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