The Belarusian sprinter who refused to return home from the Olympics after upsetting team officials is speaking out. She described the phone call with her grandmother on her way to the airport that led her to seek help from the Japanese police. Imtiaz Tyab reports.
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[Music] the olympic sprinter who refused her team’s orders to go home early is telling us more about her ordeal she’s in poland after fleeing from her own coaches but she’s still worried about her family in belarus as mts tayab reports she got a dire warning from a family member that led her to seek protection in japan her message is clear the belarusian olympic sprinter christina simanuskaya is now on the run from her own government my grandmother she called me and she said me please don’t come back to belarus and that was reason why i go to the police fearing prison siemens skye used google translate to show japanese police at haneda airport a plea for help she is now in poland on a humanitarian visa the 24 year old sprinter’s troubles began after she went on social media to criticize how her team was being managed at the games setting off a major backlash in belarusian state media now i can come back to belarus because for sure now it’s so dangerous for me i don’t know when i can come back to home it’s my country but now it’s so sad that i can’t come back belarus is often described as europe’s last dictatorship for nearly 30 years it’s been led by president alexander lukashenko he’s currently under sanctions following a brutal crackdown on the opposition during disputed elections last year which triggered mass anti-government protests and has aggressively targeted dissidents including those outside belarus’s borders see atlanta tikanuskaya is the main opposition leader who ran against lukashenko and now lives in exile frank via gorka is her spokesman on one hand this is the sign that this regime doesn’t have any boundaries and it’s ready to terrorize its citizens all over the world and on the other hand it’s the sign of fragility and insecurity of the regime now siemens sky’s ordeal is eerily reminiscent of sporting defections during the height of the cold war but this this is lukashenko’s war on his own people a people who continue to stand up to him despite the enormous costs gail all right mts thank you very much
27 Comments
Same name
She better run fast now
She should come to New England similar climate to Belarus
Coming to USA in t minus 10 yrs
это задумано было заранее с ее стороны..
This is why I can’t even go visit where my parents grew up
What I find sad is that some people in the USA want to go to something like this with communism/ socialism and they don’t see the overwhelming damage it can do in the future to this country that choose Democracy for a good reason
When American olympian get perspective on oppression
Why not mention the diversion of a Rayanair flight with a fake threat to land in Belarus to arrest a dissident that was onboard
En rijua i satu focao tifu insapok liao mav insia en ameríku
Play stupid games win stupid prizes. She is not a victim.
Why did she tell the world
Run dont tell people
Now. Americans. That’s the type of government you should not trust. That’s the type of government you should be telling “no we won’t abide by your rules and mandates.”
Thanks media. How grandma and the rest of the family is probably dead.
Send antifa, blm and libtards to Belarus 🇧🇾 that’s exactly what they really ask for anyways.
#StandwithBelarus #SouthPark
Hmmm a dictator who is a serve authoritarian and the population is disarmed. Can you connect the dots yet
Does this mean grandma is dead for snitching?
🇺🇸
Her country punishes people with imprisonment for speaking badly on the country or things of that sort. She knew if she publicly spoke out against how the team is being ran she would face ridiculous repercussions from her country. She did it anyway. don’t know what else she expected.
Last i checked Russia is also a dictatorship. Protecting the small dictatorship
“My country has a fragile-ego autocrat as the most powerful person who has no problem jailing political dissidents, and beating them… Better talk smack about him without giving any prior warning to loved ones just in case of retaliation.”
-Timanovskaya
Heard also her husband had to make a break for the border after her not so well thought out display.
I will marry hero to save her
Why are dictator ran countries allowed in the Olympic Games to begin with?
I pray her family is safe.
Shes so brave!! Her country’s leader should be ashamed of himself what a monster
How did this escalate so quickly?
All she did was step up and say "I didn't train for the event I was assigned to, my team is being managed poorly". And it turned into being warned not to return to her home country.
How the…?