IOC says Belarus sprinter 'safe and secure' with Japanese, U.N. officials after refusing to leave Tokyo Olympics
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
You are now subscribed
Your newsletter sign-up was successful
Belarusian Olympic sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya, who says top officials in her country tried to force her to return home from Tokyo on Sunday, is "safe and secure" in the care of Japanese and United Nations refugee officials, International Olympic Committee spokesman Mark Adams said Monday. Officials in Poland and the Czech Republic have offered to help Tsimanouskaya, 24, but Reuters reports she plans to request asylum in Germany or Austria.
Tsimanouskaya says Belarusian Olympic staff abruptly told her to pack her bags on Sunday, after she publicly criticized Belarus' national coaches. She refused to board the flight and asked the IOC to get involved. The IOC has asked for a full written report on the matter from the Belarusian National Olympic Committee, which said in a statement it had pulled Tsimanouskaya from the Tokyo Olympics due to her "emotional and psychological state." Tsimanouskaya called that statement "a lie."
Authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko has been harshly cracking down on dissent, and Tsimanouskaya suggested he or other top Belarusian officials had ordered or at least approved her attempted abduction. The head of Belarus' NOC, Viktor Lukashenko, is Alexander Lukashenko's son, Reuters reports.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Buddhist monks’ US walk for peaceUnder the Radar Crowds have turned out on the roads from California to Washington and ‘millions are finding hope in their journey’
-
American universities are losing ground to their foreign counterpartsThe Explainer While Harvard is still near the top, other colleges have slipped
-
How to navigate dating apps to find ‘the one’The Week Recommends Put an end to endless swiping and make real romantic connections
-
Judge rejects California’s ICE mask ban, OKs ID lawSpeed Read Federal law enforcement agents can wear masks but must display clear identification
-
Lawmakers say Epstein files implicate 6 more menSpeed Read The Trump department apparently blacked out the names of several people who should have been identified
-
Japan’s Takaichi cements power with snap election winSpeed Read President Donald Trump congratulated the conservative prime minister
-
Trump sues IRS for $10B over tax record leaksSpeed Read The president is claiming ‘reputational and financial harm’ from leaks of his tax information between 2018 and 2020
-
Trump, Senate Democrats reach DHS funding dealSpeed Read The deal will fund most of the government through September and the Department of Homeland Security for two weeks
-
Fed holds rates steady, bucking Trump pressureSpeed Read The Federal Reserve voted to keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged
-
Judge slams ICE violations amid growing backlashSpeed Read ‘ICE is not a law unto itself,’ said a federal judge after the agency violated at least 96 court orders
-
Rep. Ilhan Omar attacked with unknown liquidSpeed Read This ‘small agitator isn’t going to intimidate me from doing my work’
