Cape Times E-dition

Czech Republic offers asylum to athlete

JAPANESE authorities have confirmed to the Czech Republic that Belarusian Olympic sprinter Kristina Timanovskaya has received Prague’s asylum offer, Czech Foreign Minister Jakub Kulhanek said yesterday, stressing that his country is willing to help.

“Japanese authorities have just confirmed that Belarusian athlete Timanovskaya has received our offer to grant asylum. If she accepts it, we will provide maximum assistance. The Olympic Games should not be associated with politics; the actions of the regime [of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko] are simply shameful,” Kulhanek wrote on Twitter.

The Austrian Foreign Ministry said yesterday that Timanovskaya, who refuses to fly back to her homeland, did not get in contact with the embassy in Tokyo to request asylum.

“We are aware of the media reports, but this athlete did not get in touch with the Austrian Embassy in Tokyo. In general, a request for asylum can only be filed directly and only in the

country, in this case in Austria,” it said.

The Japanese government’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato yesterday confirmed the athlete is safe. He said she has the support of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the organisers of the Tokyo Games; the Japanese government is interacting with all the organisations involved.

Tsimanouskaya released a video via social media on Sunday claiming that Belarusian authorities were “forcibly” trying to make her return to her home country. She asked the IOC to intervene. The National Olympic Committee of Belarus said the coaching staff of the Belarusian athletics team decided to send the sprinter home due to her emotional and psychological state.

Tsimanouskaya claimed the Belarusian

Olympic Committee had decided to send her back to Belarus because she complained on Instagram about getting scheduled to run in the 4x400m relay, after some team members were found to be ineligible to compete due to insufficient doping testing.

The Belarusian opposition Sports Solidarity Fund said Tsimanouskaya wanted to seek asylum in Europe as she was allegedly being forced to leave Tokyo without her consent. Several countries have reportedly offered to provide political protection to the Belarusian athlete.

IOC spokesperson Mark Adams said Tsimanouskaya had spent the night at an airport hotel in Tokyo and was now safe and under the protection of local authorities.

WORLD

en-za

2021-08-03T07:00:00.0000000Z

2021-08-03T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://capetimes.pressreader.com/article/281698322791988

African News Agency