Belarusian sprinter Kristina Timanowskaja landed in Warsaw. After an alleged attempted kidnapping by the authorities in her home country, she has suffered days of hardship. The trigger was critical statements made by the athlete.
On the run from the authoritarian state apparatus of ruler Alexander Lukashenko, the Belarusian athlete Kristina Timanowskaja has safely arrived in Poland. “Kristina Timanowskaja landed safely in Warsaw,” wrote the Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Marcin Przydacznach after her arrival on Wednesday evening. The 24-year-old thanks all the helpers. “Poland has once again demonstrated its solidarity and willingness to help.”
After a stopover in Vienna, the sprinter, largely unknown until a few days ago, flew to Warsaw on a plane operated by the Polish state airline LOT. Timanovskaya accuses the Belarusian authorities of trying to kidnap her from the Tokyo Olympics. After public criticism of sports officials in her home country, she would have been in danger in Belarus, she says.
Timanowskaja’s husband also receives a humanitarian visa
That is why she first sought protection from the Japanese police and then at the Polish embassy in Tokyo. Poland granted her – and later her husband – a humanitarian visa. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) set up a disciplinary commission to investigate the case.
The Belarusian opposition sees the Timanovskaya case as further evidence that Belarusians have to fear for their security abroad, too. At the end of May, the case of blogger Roman Protassewitsch caused an international stir. Protassevich was arrested after the airline he was in was forced to land in the Belarusian capital, Minsk. The West then imposed new sanctions on the largely isolated ex-Soviet republic.
On Tuesday, Belarusian activist Vitaly Shishev, who fled to Ukraine, was found hanged in a Kiev park. Lukashenko’s opponents are certain that he was killed. The Ukrainian police are investigating the murder.
EU no longer recognizes Lukashenko as president
For months, the Belarusian ruler Lukashenko has been cracking down on people who think differently, the independent media and non-governmental organizations. The prominent opposition member Maria Kolesnikova has been on trial in Minsk since Wednesday, who became famous around a year ago in a trio with Svetlana Tichanowskaya and Veronika Zepkalo before the presidential election, which was widely considered to be falsified. The 39-year-old, who worked as a cultural manager in Stuttgart for a long time, faces up to twelve years in prison.
Protests in Belarus in the months following the election left several dead, hundreds injured and thousands arrested. The EU no longer recognizes the 66-year-old Lukashenko as president.
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.
