Belarusian dressage rider Olga Safronova has been granted a humanitarian visa and shelter in Poland. The athlete was banned from the Olympics this summer for speaking out critically about the authoritarian regime of President Alexander Lukashenko.
Safronova was told before the Games that one of her horses was limping and therefore not suitable for competition. The rider did not believe this and allegedly made "angry comments" about the competent official bodies and the Belarusian government. So says Polish politician Joanna Kluzik-Rostkowska. She was expelled from the Olympic equestrian team and called a "national enemy," Kluzik-Rostkowska said.
Safronova decided to seek shelter with her husband in neighboring Poland. Safronova's three horses, including the animal that was allegedly not fit, were also transferred to Poland.
Source: Sporza