Poland offers visa to Belarus Olympics athlete who fears returning home

Poland on Monday granted a humanitarian visa to Belarusian athlete Krystsina Tsimanouskaya, who claims her team tried to forcibly send her back to her authoritarian homeland from the Olympic Games in Japan.  A virtual unknown until the weekend, the 24-year-old finds herself at the centre of a major scandal after criticising the Belarusian athletics federation for entering her into a relay race in Tokyo without giving her notice. Tsimanouskaya's treatment recalled the Soviet practice of forcing disloyal athletes home and quickly sparked a political uproar. Tsimanouskaya said she feared Belarus was no longer safe for her, and several countries, including Poland, offered to host her. Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Marcin Przydacz said the athlete was "safe on the grounds of our embassy" in Tokyo, adding that Warsaw has granted her a humanitarian visa and would do "whatever is necessary to help her to continue her sporting career". Belarus strongman Alexander Lukashenko has been cracking down on any form of dissent since mass protests erupted after elections last year deemed unfair by the West.  Tsimanouskaya was one of more than 2,000 Belarusian sports figures who signed an open...