A human rights advocacy group has raised concerns against the International Olympic Committee (IOC) after a report surfaced involving 17 Russian and Belarusian athletes who will compete in Paris, allegedly showing support for the Ukraine conflict - a move they claim breaches Olympic protocols.
Global Rights Compliance, an organization based out of London and Kyiv, indicated that these athletes either engaged with social media content endorsing the hostilities in Ukraine or participated in pro-war sporting events or were part of military-affiliated sports organizations.
Despite the IOC's December protocol prohibiting athletes from expressing any backing for the conflict in Ukraine, including on social platforms, at official venues, or joining military-linked clubs, Russia and Belarus have been prevented from their usual participation due to geopolitical circumstances stemming from Ukraine.
While various sports permit individual competitors who meet IOC criteria to compete as neutrals if they undergo a particular IOC assessment - excluding track and field because of a World Athletics ban, 15 Russians and 17 Belarusians who agreed to the IOC's invitation were subjected to scrutiny.
The advocacy group's investigators focused on these athletes, pointing out possible violations in some instances. For example:
Road cyclist Alena Ivanchenko, 20, liked a post from an anti-Ukrainian sentiment account featuring Soviet leader Joseph Stalin with an accompanying caption suggesting aggression against the enemy. Additionally, she appreciated a post by Russian official Vladimir Putin promoting civil mobilization during the conflict's commencement in February 2 Written by: AI
Another example included tennis player Diana Shnaider who liked two posts from Russia Today editor Margarita Simonyan that sought to justify Russia's actions. These interactions were captured and highlighted by the advocacy group as potential breaches of IOC guidelines.
The Russian athlete at center stage in Paris, ranked world fifth in tennis Daniil Medvedev, was not named in this report but is under scrutiny for his neutrality status. Contrastingly, Ukrainian Olympic hero Zhan Beleniuk, who won gold in Tokyo 2021 and will compete again at the event, has expressed a strong stance against Russian participation unless they denounce their country's actions.
Jeremy Pizzi from Global Rights Compliance criticized the IOC for its purported lack of action regarding these findings. The International Olympic Committee deflected commentary on specific athletes but emphasized that decisions were based upon panel reviews, with no further comments provided by their spokesperson.
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