Belarusian Olympian Says She Faced Punishment at Home

Belarusian Olympic sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya said Tuesday she is focused on her safety and seeking refuge in Europe after facing threats from officials at home.

“They made it clear that upon return home I would definitely face some form of punishment,” she told The Associated Press in a videocall interview. “There were also thinly disguised hints that more would await me.”

The 24-year-old said she wants to continue her career as an athlete, with plans to compete in at least two future Olympics.

“For now, I just want to safely arrive in Europe … meet with people who have been helping me and make a decision what to do next,” Tsimanouskaya said.

Polish authorities granted her a humanitarian visa to seek political asylum on Monday after she alleged her team’s officials were trying to force her to fly home to Belarus against her wishes.

Tsimanouskaya told officials in Tokyo she feared she would not be safe in Belarus from the autocratic government of President Alexander Lukashenko.

An activist group said it had bought Tsimanouskaya a plane ticket for a Wednesday flight to Warsaw.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken tweeted late Monday that the Lukashenko government was trying to “commit another act of transnational repression” by forcing Tsimanouskaya to leave “simply for exercising free speech.”

SOURCE: VOA