Poland has granted a humanitarian visa to the Belarusian Olympian athlete, Krystina Tsimanouskaya, who refused to go home after criticizing her coaches.
Krystina Tsimanouskaya claimed that she was forcibly taken to Tokyo’s Haneda airport on Sunday and told to board a plane to Belarus. She said that she refused, telling Belarusian media, “I am afraid that in Belarus they might put me in jail … I am worried about my safety. And I think that at the moment it is not safe for me in Belarus.”
She was seen visiting the Polish embassy in Tokyo on Monday. Later, Poland’s Deputy Foreign Minister, Marcin Przydacz, said that Poland would do “whatever is necessary to help her continue her sporting career,” the BBC reported. She is expected to leave Japan on Wednesday, according to her supporters.
Krystina Tsimanouskaya’s husband has also since then fled to Kyiv, Ukraine, and told the press that he hopes to join his wife “in the near future.”
The International Olympic Committee has launched a formal investigation into her allegations and have requested that the Belarus National Olympic Committee submit its report on the incident by the end of Tuesday.
Sources: Business Insider, BBC
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