Updated 1 hour ago
The Japanese government says a Belarusian athlete is safe after she claimed her Olympic team tried to drive her out of the country in a dispute that led to a confrontation at Tokyo’s main airport.
Activists supporting runner Kristina Tsimanoskaya said she believes her life is in danger in Belarus and that she will seek asylum at the Austrian embassy in Tokyo.
Japanese government spokesman Katsunobu Kato told reporters that Japan was cooperating with other organizations to «take appropriate measures» and confirmed that Tsimanoskaya was safe.
The foreign ministry said Japan was working with the International Olympic Committee and the Tokyo Games organizers.
In a video message distributed on social media, Tsimanskaya said that she was pressured by Belarus team officials and asked for help from the International Olympic Committee.
«I have been under pressure and they are trying to force me out of the country without my consent,» said the 24-year-old runner.
Tsimanoskaya, who is scheduled to participate in the Olympic qualifying for the 200 meters, criticized the officials of the Belarusian team via her Instagram account. She said she was placed in the 4×400 relay despite never racing in that event.
Fears of deportation
The Belarusian Sports Solidarity Foundation (BSSF) said government supporters had targeted the athlete, and Tsimanoskaya contacted the group to help avoid what it feared was a forced deportation to Minsk.
«The campaign was very dangerous and it was a clear indication that her life would be in danger in Belarus,» Alexander Obikin, a spokesman for BSSF, told the Associated Press.
Tsimanoskaya called the Japanese police at Haneda Airport and did not board a flight to Istanbul. Ubikin said State Department officials later arrived at the airport.
Tsimanoskaya, in a statement from BSSF, said she was at a police station early Monday morning.
“I explained to a police officer how I was transferred from Olympic Village,” she said.
«Now I’m in a safe position and I’m thinking about the question of where I’m going to spend the night.»
The International Olympic Committee, which was at odds with the Belarus National Olympic Committee before the Tokyo Olympics, said it had intervened.
«The International Olympic Committee … is studying the situation and has asked the National Oil Corporation for clarification,» it said in a statement.
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And Poland, a neighbor of Belarus, where many critics of the Minsk regime live, offered help to Tsimanoskaya.
Deputy Foreign Minister Marcin Przydać said on Twitter that Tsimanoskaya had received a «humanitarian visa and is free to pursue her sporting career in Poland if she chooses to do so».
The Belarusian Olympic Committee has been headed for more than 25 years by the authoritarian head of state Alexander Lukashenko and his son Viktor.
Lukashenkos have been banned from the Tokyo Olympics by the International Olympic Committee, which has investigated complaints from athletes of reprisals and intimidation after protests over the country’s disputed presidential election since last August.
A spokeswoman for the Belarus Olympic team did not respond to a request for comment.
Ubikin said Tsimanoskaya had been taken to a safe place and would seek asylum at the Austrian embassy.
Tsimanouskaya has already competed with Belarus on the first day of Friday’s track events at the National Stadium in Tokyo.
She finished fourth in the first round in the 100m with a time of 11.47 seconds and did not lead.