Saga of sprinter shows nothing in Belarus is outside politics

Analysis: Krystsina Tsimanouskaya stunned, but Lukashenko regime's brutal suppression of all criticism is proving pervasive

The saga of the sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya has shown how the Belarusian government's brutal suppression of all criticism has politicised the lives and actions of even those hesitant to openly oppose the country's president, Alexander Lukashenko.

I am stunned that this situation has become a political scandal," Tsimanouskaya said during a press-conference in Warsaw, where she arrived from Tokyo via Vienna on Wednesday. This situation was only about sport ... all that I wanted was for people to take responsibility."