Olympic swimmer helping dissident Belarus athletes

A few weeks ago, Aliaksandra Herasimenia was a retired Belarusian Olympic swimmer with a stellar career.

Now, from her self-imposed exile in neighbouring Lithuania, she heads up a new foundation to help a growing list of Belarusian athletes who have fallen foul of the country’s authoritarian government.

“We provide some financial support and look for training facilities,” Herasimenia told AFP in an interview in an office used by Belarusian pro-democracy activists in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius.

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