NAfter arriving in Poland, the fleeing Belarusian athlete Kristina Timanovskaya (Kristina Timanovskaya) expressed a sigh of relief. During the Olympic Games in Warsaw on Thursday, the 24-year-old became famous all over the world for allegations of kidnapping her delegation. Poland provided Timanovskaya with a humanitarian visa, which she intends to accept.
Timanovskaya said she was “surprised that this situation turned into such a political scandal, because it was originally a sports issue.” The sprinter promised: “I just want to pursue my sports career. I talked to my parents and they said Poland is a good choice because they can move here at some point.”
Timanowskaja reported that her husband Arseni Zdanewitsch was also on his way to Poland, where more and more critics of the Belarusian government were seeking asylum. The Polish government announced that Zdanewitsch will also receive a humanitarian visa. Her parents reported to her, “They said bad things about me on (Belarusian; ed.) TV. I received a lot of bad news, but more of it was supportive information,” Timanovskaya said.
Mas and Brinken’s criticism of the Belarusian delegation
In their case, senior politicians from Europe and the United States also intervened.For example, the Federal Minister of Foreign Affairs condemned them Heiko Mars And his American colleague Antony Blinken questioned the alleged behavior of the Belarusian delegation. Timanovskaya wanted to withdraw from the Tokyo Olympics on Sunday against their wishes and take them with them. Go home because of critical remarks about their coach.
It is not yet certain how this will affect the National Olympic Committee of Belarus. The Athletes’ Association has called for its immediate exclusion during the Tokyo Olympics. International Olympic Committee(International Olympic Committee) Has imposed sanctions on Norwegian kroner last year. The internationally controversial head of state Alexander Lukashenko had to abandon his chairmanship, and his son and successor Victor was rejected by the International Olympic Committee. In addition, financial contributions are suspended.
On Wednesday, the International Olympic Committee established a disciplinary committee and announced that it will question track coach Yuri Moisevic and staff Atul Schumacher on the case of Timanovskaya.
Timanovskaya is one of 2,000 athletes who signed an open letter calling for new government elections and the release of political prisoners. Since the 2020 election, Lukashenko has been using police forces to oppose the democratic movement in his country.
