Political tensions surrounding the Belarusian Olympian Kristina Tsimanowskaja. The sprinter, who was supposed to be forced to return to her home country, wants to leave for Poland.
The Belarusian Olympic sprinter Kristina Timanowskaja applies for asylum at the Polish embassy in Tokyo. This has been confirmed by her husband to the AFP news agency, who is said to be in Ukraine after his escape. The athlete, who, according to the opposition, should be kidnapped from Japan by the authoritarian authorities in her country, arrived in Poland on Monday in Tokyo. Poland had previously offered the 24-year-old asylum to the Czech Republic. Timanovskaya is reportedly scheduled to fly from Tokyo to Warsaw on Wednesday.
The athlete said in a video published by the opposition Belarusian athletes’ association Belarusian Sport Solidarity Foundation (BSSF) on Sunday that she had been flown out of Japan against her will. The reason was public criticism of Belarusian sports officials.
Kristina Tsimanowskaja sea IOC in security
The sprinter had refused the flight, turned to the Japanese police and then spent the night in a hotel at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport. According to the International Olympic Committee, she is in a “safe environment”.
Poland offered Timanovskaya a humanitarian visa on Sunday evening. His country is ready to help, wrote Vice Foreign Minister Marcin Przydacz on Twitter. “She has the free choice to continue her sporting career in Poland if she chooses,” the politician continued.
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
