A Ugandan player who has left his place of stay at the Tokyo Olympics and returned home in protection last week has been temporarily detained and interrogated by Ugandan authorities on suspicion of collusion of fraud.

Athletes' lawyers have complained that "there is no fact of crime and it is unjustified."

Julius Setitreco, a 20-year-old weightlifting player from the Uganda at the Tokyo Olympics, said at a hotel in Osaka, where he was staying at a pre-camp on the 16th of this month, "I will work in Japan without returning to a difficult country. I left a memo saying "I want to do it" and lost my whereabouts, and after that, I was protected in Mie prefecture.



Then, on the 21st of this month, I was on my way home from Narita Airport, but according to a lawyer of Setitreco, Ugandan officials returned home saying, "I left the country in conspiracy with the people concerned even though I was not qualified to participate in the tournament." It means that Setitreco was detained for 5 days.



Setitreco is currently released, but is being investigated on suspicion of conspiring to scam.



After coming to Japan as a member of the Olympic team, Setitreco was decided not to participate, and a lawyer told NHK that "there is no criminal fact and the authorities' response is unjustified."



When Setitreco was protected, he expressed his intention to apply for refugee status, and at the National Refugee Lawyers Liaison Conference, athletes and officials who came to Japan at the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics expressed their intention to apply for refugee status. We are making an offer to the Games Organizing Committee and the government to ensure that we have the opportunity to be reviewed in some cases.