Tokyo (AFP)
The accreditations of two coaches of the Belarusian delegation to the Olympic Games in Tokyo have been withdrawn for their role in the case of Krystsina Tsimanouskaya, this athlete threatened with being forcibly repatriated to Belarus after having criticized the sports bodies of her country, announced Friday the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
"A disciplinary commission has been set up by the IOC in connection with the Krystsina Tsimanouskaya case to clarify the circumstances of what happened and the role played by coaches Artur Shimak and Yury Maisevich," explained the Olympic body on its Twitter account.
"In the interest of the athletes of the Belarusian Olympic Committee who are still in Tokyo and on a provisional basis, the IOC canceled and withdrawn last night the accreditations of MA Shimak and Y. Maisevich", continued the IOC.
"The two coaches were asked to leave the Olympic Village with immediate effect, which they did. They were offered the opportunity to be heard," the text concludes.
Krystsina Tsimanouskaya said last Sunday that she escaped forced repatriation to Belarus, a few days after openly criticizing her country's athletics federation.
Fearing that she would end up in prison if she returned to Belarus, she had obtained IOC help and police protection while at Tokyo-Haneda airport.
Krystsina Tsimanouskaya then took refuge for two nights at the Polish embassy in the Japanese capital, before joining on Wednesday, via Vienna, Poland, a country which granted her a humanitarian visa.
Tsimanouskaya was one of more than 2,000 Belarusian sports figures who signed an open letter calling for new elections and the release of political prisoners.
Belarus, a former Soviet republic ruled with an iron fist by President Alexander Lukashenko since 1994 and whose son heads the Belarusian Olympic Committee, has been rocked by a crackdown on the opposition after contested presidential elections.
© 2021 AFP