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You can see Thomas Bach (left) and Peng Shuai - but what does this video call prove?
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GREG MARTIN / AFP
In the case of tennis player Peng Shuai, the sports association Global Athlete attacked the IOC and its president Thomas Bach.
The announcement by the International Olympic Committee about a video conversation between Bach and the Chinese woman made "the IOC complicit in the malicious propaganda of the Chinese authorities and their lack of interest in basic human rights and justice," the association said on Monday.
In early November, Peng Shuai published allegations of sexual assault by a top Chinese politician on the Weibo social network. After that, she was initially not seen in public. The IOC announced on Sunday that Bach had made a video call with the tennis player. She said she was safe, she was fine and did not want to be disturbed at the moment. This impression is also conveyed by the state foreign media in China with supposedly evidence videos.
Global Athlete emphasized that video switching in no way guarantees that Peng Shuai will be safe and well. The IOC's statement does not mention that the 35-year-old dual specialist had made allegations of sexual abuse and had disappeared for two weeks. By inviting Peng Shuai to dinner, Bach mocked the "deadly serious situation, which unfortunately is very familiar to many female athletes."
The athletes' association renewed its call for China's Olympic Committee to be suspended until Peng Shuai is allowed to leave China safely and their allegations are the subject of an investigation.
With its stance on the matter, the IOC has once again proven that it "lets athletes down, stands on the side of violent authoritarian regimes and ignores human rights," said Global Athlete.
For the IOC, the case has high priority and at the same time very explosive, since China's capital Beijing will host the Winter Olympics in February.
The association has long been criticized for awarding the Games to China, including human rights violations.
krä / dpa