President Alexander Lukashenko claimed a Belarusian sprinter defected at the Olympic Games only because she had been “manipulated” by outside forces.
After one activist was hanged and another hijacked,Belarus opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya wants dissidents trained in spycraft for self-protection.
Athletics head coach Yuri Moisevich and team official Artur Shumak were removed from the athletes’ village over the case of Krystsina Tsimanouskaya who is now in Poland.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was only the most prominent of many politicians and activists condemning Belarus’ ruthless approach to dissidents.
Krystsina Tsimanouskaya is reportedly on her way to Vienna,Austria,not Poland as planned. Before leaving,she said she hoped to continue her career.
Police said they had launched a criminal case for suspected murder,including investigating whether killers tried to disguise the crime as suicide.
For some athletes,the Games aren’t just a chance to compete - they’re an opportunity to defect. Here’s a look at several prominent Olympic defections.
Victor Lukashenko,the eldest son of Belarus’s Soviet-era leader Alexander Lukashenko,dispatched two officials to an athlete’s room to escort her to the airport and load her onto a flight to Minsk. The IOC says she is now in “safe” in the hands of authorities in Tokyo.
This new flow of people did not begin organically,Lithuanian and EU say but is the result of an audacious plan by Belarusian President to weaponise migration.
Krystsina Tsimanouskaya,who was due to compete on Monday,said she had sought the protection of Japanese police at Tokyo’s Haneda airport so she would not have to board the flight.
Journalists from the BBC walked out of the event,saying it was clear he appeared under duress.