http://www.smh.com.au/sport/olympics/rio-2016/olympics-athletics/rio-olympics-2016-ethiopian-wins-silver-but-is-too-scared-to-return-home-20160821-gqxu4i.html
August 22 2016 - 3:44AM
Ethiopian Feyisa Lilesa wins silver at Rio Olympics but is too scared
to return home
Michael Gleeson
Feyisa Lilesa won the silver medal for Ethiopia in the marathon but is
too scared to return to his country for fear he will be killed or
jailed there.
Lilesa crossed the finish line with his wrists crossed high in the air
as a protest. He also challenged the world community for supporting a
killing regime in his country.
Afterwards he said he was protesting to support family members who
were illegally jailed in Ethiopia for protesting the government there.
"I was protesting for my people," Lilesa said.
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"It was for all my relatives in prison. I am worried to ask my
relatives to talk in prison - if you talk you get killed."
He knew his protest would have consequences for him in his country
were he to return now.
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"If I go back to Ethiopia maybe they will kill me. If I am not killed
maybe they will put me in prison. [If ] they [do] not put me in prison
they will block me at airport," he said.
"I have got a decision. Maybe I move to another country."
Silver medalist Feyisa Lilesa repeated his protest on the podium. Photo: AP
He said that in the last nine months more than a thousand people had
been killed by the government for protesting for rights and democracy.
He said the Ethiopian government had removed people from their land
and then jailed or killed them for protesting.
"If you talk about this one it's very dangerous so another athlete
(says to him) how can you speak this one? It is a very bad government.
Now America, England, France support this government when they give
this support it buys machine guns then they kill the people."
Received on Sun Aug 21 2016 - 12:40:37 EDT