Poland grants visa to Belarus Olympian who fears for safety

TOKYO — Poland granted a visa Monday to a Belarusian Olympic sprinter who said she feared for her information and that her team’s officials tried to unit her to alert home, wherever the autocratic authorities was accused of diverting a formation to apprehension a dissident journalist.

An activistic radical that is helping jock Krystsina Tsimanouskaya told The Associated Press that it bought her a level summons to Warsaw for the coming days.

The existent standoff seemingly began aft Tsimanouskaya criticized however officials were managing her squad — mounting disconnected a monolithic backlash successful state-run media backmost home, wherever authorities relentlessly ace down connected authorities critics. The runner said connected her Instagram relationship that she was enactment successful the 4×400 relay adjacent though she has ne'er raced successful the event.

The runner was past seemingly hustled to the airdrome but refused to committee a formation for Istanbul and alternatively approached constabulary for help. In a filmed connection distributed connected societal media, she besides asked the International Olympic Committee for assistance.

“I was enactment nether pressure, and they are trying to forcibly instrumentality maine retired of the state without my consent,” the 24-year-old said successful the message.

The rapid-fire bid of events brought planetary governmental intrigue to an Olympics that person been much focused connected operational dramas, similar maintaining information during a pandemic and navigating wide Japanese absorption to holding the lawsuit astatine all.

Belarus’ authoritarian authorities has relentlessly targeted anyone adjacent mildly expressing dissent since a statesmanlike predetermination a twelvemonth agone triggered a question of unprecedented wide protests. And it has besides gone to extremes to halt its critics, including the caller level diversion that European officials called an enactment of aerial piracy.

In this context, Tsimanouskaya feared for her information erstwhile she saw the run against her successful authorities media, according to the Belarusian Sport Solidarity Foundation, the activistic radical that is helping her.

“The run was rather superior and that was a wide awesome that her beingness would beryllium successful information successful Belarus,” Alexander Opeikin, a spokesperson for the foundation, told the AP successful an interview.

State media person continued to travel down hard connected Tsimanouskaya. Presenters connected authorities TV transmission Belarus 1 called her determination to question asylum “a inexpensive stunt” and “a disgusting act,” and described her show astatine the Olympics arsenic a “failure.”

Tsimanouskaya competed for Belarus connected the archetypal time of way events Friday astatine the National Stadium successful Tokyo. She placed 4th successful her first-round vigor successful the 100 meters, timing 11.47 seconds, and did not advance.

She was owed to vie again successful the Olympic 200-meter heats connected Monday, but she said her squad barred her from participating successful a ailment filed with the Court of Arbitration for Sport. She asked the tribunal to overturn that decision, but the assemblage declined to intervene.

Tsimanouskaya’s adjacent steps were not clear. Szymon Szynkowski vel Sek, a Polish lawman overseas minister, said the runner asked for the humanitarian visa for present and tin inactive question exile presumption erstwhile successful Poland. Vadim Krivosheyev, of the activistic sports foundation, said she planned to question asylum.

Another Polish lawman overseas minister, Marcin Przydacz, told the Onet.pl quality portal that erstwhile successful Poland, Tsimanouskaya volition beryllium escaped to chose whether to enactment determination oregon to spell to “another harmless country.”

Tsimanouskaya’s husband, Arseni Zdanevich, meanwhile, confirmed to the Russian Sport Express paper that helium near Belarus for Ukraine.

Athletes seeking asylum astatine planetary sporting events is thing caller — though Tsimanouskaya’s circumstances disagree from the emblematic situation. Requests for asylum were particularly predominant during the Cold War but they person besides happened occasionally successful the decades since. As galore arsenic 117 athletes defected astatine the Munich Olympics successful 1972, according to reports astatine the time. At slightest 4 Romanians and a Soviet associated with the Olympics defected astatine the Montreal Games successful 1976. And Cuban athletes person often done so.

Underscoring the seriousness of the allegations, respective groups and countries accidental they are helping the runner. Poland and the Czech Republic offered assistance, and Japan’s Foreign Ministry said it was moving with the International Olympic Committee and the Tokyo Olympics organizers.

The IOC, which has been successful quality with the Belarus National Olympic Committee up of the Tokyo Games, said it had intervened.

“The IOC … is looking into the concern and has asked the NOC for clarification,” it said successful a statement.

A spokeswoman for the Belarus Olympic squad did not respond to a petition for comment.

Many critics of Belarus’ authorities person fled to Poland. A apical Belarusian dissident successful the country, Pavel Latushka, said Tsimanouskaya and those supporting her had sought assistance from assorted European governments, but Poland was the quickest to respond.

Przydacz said connected Twitter that successful summation to granting the humanitarian visa, Poland would besides assistance the runner to proceed her sports career. “Poland ever stands for Solidarity,” helium said.

Several hours aft she entered the Polish embassy, Tsimanouskaya was inactive believed to beryllium inside.

Czech Foreign Minister Jakub Kulhanek besides tweeted that the Czech Republic has offered her asylum.

The Belarus National Olympic Committee has been led for much than 25 years by authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko and his son, Viktor.

Both Lukashenkos are banned from the Tokyo Olympics by the IOC, which investigated complaints from athletes that they faced reprisals and intimidation during the crackdown pursuing the question of anti-government protests implicit the past year.

“Lukashenko perceives each disapproval arsenic portion of a crippled by Western countries,” said Valery Karbalevich, an autarkic Belarusian governmental analyst. “Tsimanouskaya’s protestation is viewed arsenic portion of a broader question of hundreds of Belarusian athletes who stood against the beatings of peaceful demonstrators and for a twelvemonth person been taking portion successful thoroughfare rallies.”

The standoff implicit Tsimanouskaya comes conscionable months aft the melodramatic diversion of a rider level flying betwixt 2 EU countries. Belarusian authorities ordered the level to onshore successful Minsk — and pulled writer and activistic Raman Pratasevich and his Russian woman disconnected the flight.

The elder Lukashenko maintained that determination was a weaponry menace against the level and that’s wherefore a combatant pitchy was scrambled to unit it to land, but the determination was roundly criticized by Western leaders.

Pratasevich, who ran a transmission connected a messaging app utilized to signifier demonstrations against Lukashenko’s rule, near his homeland successful 2019. He has been charged with fomenting wide unrest and is nether location apprehension portion helium awaits trial.

Associated Press journalists Daria Litvinova and Daniel Kozin successful Moscow, Monika Scislowska successful Warsaw, Yuras Karmanau successful Kyiv, Ukraine, and James Ellingworth successful Tokyo contributed to this report.