Belarus

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Belarus Defector Is Selling One of Her Prized Possessions

Krystsina Tsimanouskaya wants to help other athletes punished by regime

(Newser) - Krystsina Tsimanouskaya is starting a new life in Poland after defecting from Belarus at the Tokyo Olympics—and to help fellow athletes in her homeland, she is selling one of her most prized possessions from her old life. The 24-year-old sprinter is selling the silver medal she won in the...

IOC Asks 2 Belarus Coaches to Leave Olympics Immediately

IOC says they tried to force sprinter to board plane back to country

(Newser) - Two Belarus team coaches have been removed from the Olympics, four days after they were involved in trying to send sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya back to their country. The International Olympic Committee said Friday it has canceled and removed the credentials of Artur Shimak and Yury Maisevich, the AP reports. "...

Belarus Sprinter Is Latest in a Long Line of Olympic Defectors

Dozens of Hungarians defected in 1956 after Soviet tanks rolled into Budapest

(Newser) - Belarus sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya is now officially a political exile—and the latest in a long line of Olympic defectors, many of them from authoritarian regimes in Eastern Europe. Unlike many of her predecessors, Tsimanouskaya didn't travel to the Olympics planning to defect, the AP reports. The 24-year-old, who...

Fleeing the Games, Sprinter Made a Last-Minute Switch

Wary of security, Belarus sprinter changed flight plans from Warsaw to Vienna at last minute

(Newser) - Change of travel plans for Krystsina Tsimanouskaya—she's headed to Vienna instead of Warsaw, at least initially. The Washington Post reports on the continuing drama swirling around the 24-year-old Olympic sprinter, who boarded a plane bound for Poland on Wednesday, less than three days after Belarus authorities took her...

Murder Probe Opened After Belarus Activist Found Hanged

Fellow exiles say they had been warned that Vitaly Shishov was being watched

(Newser) - A Belarusian activist who fled the country for Ukraine after taking part in antigovernment rallies has been found hanged in a park—and police have opened a murder investigation. Police say they are investigating whether Vitaly Shishov was killed and his death framed as a suicide, the BBC reports. The...

Belarusian Sprinter Speaks Out
Belarusian Sprinter Speaks Out
the rundown
Aug 3, 2021 10:00 AM CDT

Belarusian Sprinter Speaks Out

'I don’t think I can ever go back to Belarus,' says Krystsina Tsimanouskaya

(Newser) - The Belarus sprinter who is refusing to go home has given her first interviews since the Olympic controversy erupted. In them, 24-year-old Krystsina Tsimanouskaya makes clear that she hopes to run in future Olympics, though not for her native country. Coverage:
  • “I don’t think I can ever go
...

Poland Grants Visa to Runner Afraid to Return to Belarus

Krystsina Tsimanouskaya's husband has now fled the country

(Newser) - Poland granted a visa Monday to a Belarusian Olympic sprinter who said she feared for her safety and that her team’s officials tried to force her to fly home, where the autocratic government was accused of diverting a flight to arrest a dissident journalist. An activist group that is...

Belarus Sprinter Refused to Board Flight Home From Tokyo

Krystsina Tsimanouskaya asked the IOC to intervene

(Newser) - A sprinter from Belarus asked police for help at the Tokyo airport, saying she was being forced to board a flight. Earlier, Krystsina Tsimanouskaya made an Instagram post criticizing her coaches’ decision to enter her in a race, the 4x400-meter relay, that she had not trained for. Then, she said,...

Europe Is In for a New Border Barrier

Lithuania also will send troops to stop illegal traffic from Belarus

(Newser) - As tension with neighboring Belarus escalates, Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte announced Wednesday that a "physical barrier" will be constructed along their 421-mile border to stop illegal migration. Army troops also will be deployed to guard the border, the BBC reports. The actions should be taken as "a...

Opposition Objects to Journalist's Teary TV Appearance

Foes of Belarus government say confessional video was made under duress

(Newser) - Belarus aired an interview with detained journalist Raman Pratasevich on state TV on Thursday, a video that included tears and a confession to opposing the government. Regime opponents criticized the video as being made under duress, Reuters reports. "His parents believe he was tortured. This is not Raman I...

Belarus Activist Hospitalized After Stabbing Himself in Court

Stsiapan Latypau reportedly was told his family would be prosecuted unless he confessed

(Newser) - A Belarus activist has been hospitalized after stabbing himself in the neck with a pen during a court hearing in Minsk, a rights group said. Stsiapan Latypau underwent surgery and is in satisfactory condition, the BBC reports. He's charged with being behind opposition social media, which he denies. The...

Protests Spread as US Decides on Sanctions

White House says it's holding the Belarus government accountable after hijacking

(Newser) - Demonstrations around the world opposed the Belarus government on Saturday—sparked by the hijacking of an airliner last week—a day after the Biden administration said it's imposing economic sanctions. A White House spokeswoman said the US will restore sanctions next week against nine state-owned operations in Belarus that...

Russian Backs Belarus By Blocking European Flights
Russia Blocks European Flights
May 27, 2021 4:07 PM CDT

Russia Blocks European Flights

EU meeting to consider sanctions after Ryanair hijacking

(Newser) - Russia has expressed its support for Belarus by refusing to let at least two European airlines' flights land in Moscow. Austrian Airlines and Air France announced the cancellations, saying permission from Russia was denied, per CNN ; Russia had no comment. Both airlines wanted to change the routes to avoid crossing...

Anyone Who Flies Should Worry About What Belarus Did

State hijacking could become more common, unless the West cracks down

(Newser) - Another norm has been shattered that could—depending on how Western nations react—put political dissidents and travelers at greater risk. When Belarus forced an airliner down so it could seize a dissident on board, a basic standard was lost, Anne Applebaum writes in the Atlantic . Until now, pilots could...

Father of Seized Journalist Fears Torture

Belarus airs video clip of Raman Pratasevich

(Newser) - The journalist at the center of an international controversy surfaced in a video clip that aired on state TV channels in Belarus on Monday, reports AFP . Raman Pratasevich speaks quickly in the video that the BBC says "appears to have been recorded under duress." The 26-year-old was seized...

Belarus &#39;Hijacking&#39; Poses a Big Test for Biden
On Diverted Jet, a Sense
of 'Panic' Among Passengers
the rundown
May 24, 2021 1:52 PM CDT

On Diverted Jet, a Sense of 'Panic' Among Passengers

Belarus' decision to force down a passenger plane is widely condemned

(Newser) - Ryanair calls it "state-sponsored piracy," per CNBC . The US secretary of state calls it "shocking," and the president of the EU Commission says it amounts to a "hijacking," reports the AP . Those were some of the reactions percolating Monday to the diversion of a...

Millions Watch Film Alleging Lukashenko Leads Luxe Life

Lukashenko Goldmine has notched more than 3M views since Monday

(Newser) - The man referred to as "Europe's last dictator" is also now the star of a film—though he's likely not too pleased about it. Lukashenko Goldmine is an 83-minute film by Poland-based opposition news service NEXTA that was dropped onto YouTube on Monday and has now been...

For Filming Protest, They Get 2 Years in Prison

2 journalists jailed in Belarus

(Newser) - Two journalists in Belarus were convicted Thursday of violating public order and sentenced to two years in prison after they covered a protest against authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko , per the AP . Katsiaryna Bakhvalava, 27, and Daria Chultsova, 23, both of the Polish-funded Belsat TV channel, were arrested in November after...

Belarus Leader Sworn In During Secret Ceremony

Opposition calls it a 'thieves' meeting'

(Newser) - Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko's inauguration ceremony Wednesday was more like a surprise party than the usual grand occasion—and his countrymen were the ones getting the surprise. After more than a month of massive protests over August's disputed election, Lukashenko was sworn in for a sixth term Wednesday...

Hear the Calls for Change, Pope Urges
Hear the
Calls for
Change,
Pope Urges
Sep 13, 2020 12:00 PM CDT

Hear the Calls for Change, Pope Urges

Francis has sent the Vatican's foreign minister to Belarus

(Newser) - Pope Francis urged political leaders to listen to protesters and heed their calls for political and social change, an apparent reference to protests in Belarus against the country's authoritarian president. Francis didn't mention Belarus or any country in his appeal Sunday during his noontime prayer, but his comments...

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