Ethiopia pledges safe return for protest runner

AFP, ADDIS ABABA: Ethiopia’s government vowed that Olympic marathon silver medallist Feyisa Lilesa had nothing to fear upon returning home after staging a dramatic protest against the country’s politics, state-controlled Fana radio reported on Monday. 
On Sunday, Lilesa, who came second to Kenyan favourite Eliud Kipchoge in Rio, crossed his arms as he finished the marathon in protest against the Ethiopian government’s crackdown on political dissent.
He repeated the gesture during the race’s medal ceremony, saying he was afraid to go back to his homeland following his protest “against the government’s attitude regarding Oromo people”, one of two main ethnic groups in Ethiopia.
“Lelisa won’t face any problem due to his political stance,” government spokesman Getachew Reda told Fana.
“Though it is impossible to express a political stance at Olympic Games, the athlete will be welcomed while returning home along with other members of the Ethiopian Olympic squad,” he added.
Huma

Ethiopia pledges safe return for protest runner

AFP, ADDIS ABABA: Ethiopias government vowed that Olympic marathon silver medallist Feyisa Lilesa had nothing to fear upon returning home after staging a dramatic protest against the countrys politics, state-controlled Fana radio reported on Monday. On Sunday, Lilesa, who came second to Kenyan favourite Eliud Kipchoge in Rio, crossed his arms as he finished the marathon in protest against the Ethiopian governments crackdown on political dissent. He repeated the gesture during the races medal ceremony, saying he was afraid to go back to his homeland following his protest against the governments attitude regarding Oromo people, one of two main ethnic groups in Ethiopia. Lelisa wont face any problem due to his political stance, government spokesman Getachew Reda told Fana. Though it is impossible to express a political stance at Olympic Games, the athlete will be welcomed while returning home along with other members of the Ethiopian Olympic squad, he added. Huma