GRAHAM DUNBARAP communication

Tokyo (AP) — Polish officials say the Belarusian Olympic sprinter has been granted a humanitarian visa.

Runner Kryssina Tsimanouskaya will seek political asylum in Poland after her team officials insisted she tried to bring her home for fear of being unsafe from the dictatorship.

The current standoffs appear to have started after Tsimanouskaya criticized how authorities manage her team. Authorities have sparked a rally in the state media, relentlessly cracking down on government critics. Tsimanouskaya states in his Instagram account that he has participated in the 4×400 relay even though he has never participated in the event.

Later, Zimanuskaya apparently rushed to the airport, but refused to fly to Istanbul and instead turned to the police for help. She also sought help from the International Olympic Committee in a filmed message delivered on social media.

“I’m under pressure and they’re trying to force me out of the country without my consent,” the 24-year-old runner said in a message.

The series of events has led to an international political conspiracy focused on the Olympics, including maintaining security during a pandemic and navigating Japan’s widespread opposition to hosting the event.

The authoritarian government of Belarus has mercilessly targeted anyone who has expressed any opposition since the presidential election a year ago caused an unprecedented wave of protests. It has also taken extreme steps to stop critics, including a recent flight detour that European officials have called aerial piracy.

In this context, Tsimanouskaya feared her safety after she saw a campaign against her in the state media, according to the Sports Foundation she contacted for help.

“The campaign was very serious and it clearly showed that her life was at stake in Belarus,” BSSF spokesman Alexander Opeikin told AP in an interview.

Athletes seeking asylum at global sporting events are nothing new. It was especially frequent during the Cold War, but it has happened occasionally in the decades since then. For example, according to reports at the time, as many as 117 athletes went into exile at the 1972 Munich Olympics. At least four Romanians and the Soviet Union associated with the Olympics were exiled at the 1976 Montreal Games. And Cuban athletes frequently went into exile.

Emphasizing the seriousness of the claim, some groups and countries say they are helping runners. Poland and the Czech Republic provided support, and Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it was cooperating with the International Olympic Committee and the organizers of the Tokyo Olympics.

The IOC, which had been in conflict with the Belarusian National Olympic Committee prior to the Tokyo Olympics, said it had intervened.

“The IOC is … investigating the situation and seeking clarification from the NOC,” he said in a statement.

Many critics of the Belarusian government have fled to Poland. “We have a humanitarian visa and are free to pursue a sports career in Poland if we wish,” Marsin Pujidatch, Deputy Foreign Minister, said on Twitter.

Two exiled Belarusian women living in Tokyo provided runner support outside the Polish embassy on Monday. They waved a flag that was a combination of the opposition flag and the Japanese flag.

Czech Foreign Minister Jakub Slawhanek also tweeted that the Czech Republic has offered asylum.

“If she decides to accept it, we will do our best to help her,” he wrote.

The Belarusian National Olympic Committee has been headed by authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko and his son Victor for over 25 years.

Both Lukashenko have been banned from the Tokyo Olympics by the IOC, which investigated complaints from athletes that they faced retaliation and intimidation during a crackdown following a wave of anti-government protests last year.

A spokesman for the Belarus Olympic team did not respond to a request for comment.

In May, Belarusian officials aimed a passenger plane at Minsk, pulling journalist and activist Ramanplatasevic and his Russian girlfriend off the plane.

Elder Lukashenko argued that there was a bomb threat to the plane, which was why the fighters were scrambled to force a landing, but the move was roundly criticized by Western leaders.

Platasevic, who ran a channel on a messaging app used to organize demonstrations against Lukashenko’s rule, left his hometown in 2019. He has been charged with inciting massive anxiety and is under house arrest while awaiting trial.

In the drama on Monday, Zimanuskaya missed the 200-meter heat of the upcoming Olympic Games. She has already competed with Belarus on Friday’s first day of athletics at the National Stadium in Tokyo. She finished fourth in the first round heat at 11.47 seconds at 100 meters and did not move forward.

Associated Press journalists Daria Litvinova and Daniel Kozin contributed to this report from Moscow.

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