The Belarusian athlete will be protected in Warsaw. The husband flees the country
Now for Kristina the hardest race comes. The Belarusian athlete that Sunday in Tokyo he challenged the Minsk authorities refusing forced return is in the Japanese capital under the protection of the Polish embassy: Warsawyesterday he granted her a visa for humanitarian reasons and also ensured the green light atasylum. Kristina Timanouskaya, 24 and one degree in Pedagogy, specialist of 100 and 200, was forced to leave the Games after criticizing the Belarusian federation for having registered it without his knowledge in the 4×400 relay. A last-minute move to replace the fractionist not admitted to the Games because she does not have the number of test antidoping required.
–
The case also exploded husband, Arseny Zdanevich, he made himself safe: I made the decision to leave in half an hour. At home I would have been in danger, now I am in Ukraine but only passing through, I will later join my wife in Poland, the young man confided to the Belarusian news site Kyky.org blocked in Minsk and operating from abroad.
–
For Kristina comes the toughest race because now his parents are in the sights: yesterday the agents of the president-dictator Lukashenko they went to their home in Klimovichi, 17,000 souls on the border with Russia. It is not easy to stay on course against a regime accustomed to stifling all forms of dissent by force. We will try to help Kristina even in this new phase to the best of our ability, says al Courier service via Telegram Kristi Alyaksandra, founder of Belarus Sports Solidarity Foundation, an NGO that defends athletes from the abuses of power. Alyaksandra, a former swimmer who had auctioned off the gold won at the 2012 World Cup to finance the association, has had a direct line with Kristina these days. From the first controversial post – It turns out that our great bosses always decide everything for us – to the next criticism: I wouldn’t have reacted so hard if they had told me before, explaining the situation, wondering if I was able to run the 400 meters. But they decided everything behind me.
–
The exclusion from the races and the return order for Timanouskaya immediately started: the Games were not to become an international pulpit to rekindle the spotlight on a country that after a year of arrests, purges and violence managed to extinguish anti-regime protests by force (there are over 530 political prisoners in prison, the others are forced into exile abroad, starting with the opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya).
–
But Kristina, with Alyaksandra’s support, was not intimidated and launched a sos: They are trying to take me out of Japan without my consent. I ask the IOC to intervene, he announced in the video appeal launched on Sunday on social media while he refused to board the plane that was supposed to repatriate her. Alyaksandra’s support was especially useful in not making her feel alone, amidst the attacks at home and the silence of her teammates. It hurts – consider the husband – to see that people you train with every day are silent.
–
(With the collaboration of Pavel Kozlov from Moscow)
–
August 2, 2021 (change August 2, 2021 | 23:43)
© REPRODUCTION RESERVED
–
—
