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Belarusian Olympic track sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya received a humanitarian visa from Poland after she alleged her team’s officials tried to force her to fly home where she feared the government could retaliate against her for her criticism of her coaches, Poland’s Deputy Foreign Minister Marcin Przydacz tweeted Monday.
Pryuzydacz confirmed Tsimanouskaya was already in "direct contact" with Polish diplomats in Tokyo.
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"She has received a humanitarian visa. Poland will do whatever is necessary to help her to continue her sporting career," he tweeted. "Poland always stands for solidarity."
Belarusian Sport Solidarity Foundation (BSSF) spokesman Vadim Krivosheyev told the Associated Press the activist group bought her a plane ticket to Warsaw for Aug. 4.
Japan was cooperating with other governments to "take appropriate measures," Japanese government spokesperson Katsunobu Katu told reporters earlier Monday. Katu added that Tsimanouskaya was safe, and the Foreign Ministry said Japan was working with the International Olympic Committee and Tokyo 2020 organizers.
Tsimanouskaya said in a message on social media she was pressured by her Belarusian team and asked the IOC for help.
"I was put under pressure and they are trying to forcibly take me out of the country without my consent," she said.
Tsimanouskaya said her coaching staff came to her room Sunday and told her to pack and she was taken to Haneda Airport by Belarusian Olympic team reps, according to Reuters. She told Reuters via a telegram message she would not return to Belarus.
The Belarusian Olympic Committee said Tsimanouskaya was withdrawn from the Olympics on doctors’ advice concerning her "emotion, psychological state."
BELARUS' KRYSTSINA TSIMANOUSKAYA SAFE AFTER STANDOFF WITH OFFICIALS AT AIRPORT, JAPAN SAYS
The BSSF said government supporters targeted the 24-year-old athlete and she contacted the group for help to avoid what she feared was a forced deportation back to Minsk.
"The campaign was quite serious and that was a clear signal that her life would be in danger in Belarus," BSSF spokesman Alexander Opeikin told the Associated Press.
The Belarusian government has targeted anyone even mildly expressing dissent since last year after a presidential election triggered mass protests in the country. Many critics of the Belarusian government have fled to Poland.
Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko and his son, Viktor, have led the Belarus National Olympic Committee for about 25 years. Both men are banned from the Tokyo Olympics by the IOC over the organization’s investigation into complaints athletes faced reprisals and intimidation in the fallout from protests against the president in the country.
Tsimanouskaya was set to run in the 200-meter heats on Monday. She said she was removed from the 4x400-meter team after speaking out about it. She said she had never run in that race before.
"Some of our girls did not fly here to compete in the 4x400m relay because they didn't have enough doping tests," she told Reuters. "And the coach added me to the relay without my knowledge. I spoke about this publicly. The head coach came over to me and said there had been an order from above to remove me."
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Tsimanouskaya competed in the first day of track events on Friday at the National Stadium in Tokyo. She placed fourth in her first-round heat in the 100 meters.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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