Marathon silver medalist will go to jail. He flashed a protest sign. Update: Says he may be killed when he returns to Ethiopia

Please add this to the front page ... this story will break from your site to the news.... give voice to the voiceless. The govt will jail this Guy. They will take all his money.

He is done

Did he really not pick up his flag? I did not notice..

Good for this guy. I was initially irritated with what he was doing. I had no idea. Will he really be in some trouble when returning home?

Go outside of LetsRun to the network sites and YouTube, comment on this and link back to our LetsRun site. NBC has ignored this story to cover their SwimGate scandal.

This serious stuff. We could be seeing the beginnings of a full on rebellion by the Oromos in Ethiopia. Hundreds have been killed in recent months and thousands are crossing the border into Kenya as they have familial ties on both sides.

For those who don't know, most Ethiopian runners are Oromo.

Lilesa also broke Olympic rule 50:

Rule 50 of the IOC’s charter states “no kind of demonstration or political, religious or racial propaganda is permitted in any Olympic sites, venues or other areas.”

athletes found in violation could face “disqualification or withdrawal of the accreditation of the person concerned.”

He may also lose his silver medal.

Blah Blah. wrote:

Lilesa also broke Olympic rule 50:

Rule 50 of the IOC’s charter states “no kind of demonstration or political, religious or racial propaganda is permitted in any Olympic sites, venues or other areas.”

athletes found in violation could face “disqualification or withdrawal of the accreditation of the person concerned.”

He may also lose his silver medal.

No way he loses his medal. The Ethiopians are saying their Amharic prayers that this gets no attention so they can go on with business as usual back home. They will be begging the IOC to take no action.

I have to laugh at those of you who want no political expression at the Olympics. The Olympics is a giant expression of national political expression--but most of you seem to want a TOP DOWN political script, one that has no place to acknowledge how unjust a world we live in. I bow to those who have the courage to burst that bubble.

It will be interesting to watch Lelisa at medal ceremony.

Lots of people will interpret his finish line behavior as expression of individual arrogance. Those who know Ethiopia will see this very differently. Actually most Ethiopians find selfish and arrogant behavior abhorrent. Cocky, chest-beating personal displays are very un-Ethiopian. Ethiopians value self-sacrifice and humility in ways than people from other countries often cannot comprehend.

Sorry if he didn't shake Galen's hand. I bet he had other stuff on his mind: hundreds of his people shot dead by government, the fact that Ethio throws hundreds of dissidents in jail as "terrorists" and the fact that he just risked HUGE act of defiance against the same government.

Hard to judge from brief camera shots, but he seemed defiant. No shirt--I bet he REFUSED to wear singlet representing his govt. Did anybody see him with flag afterwards?

I don't think we saw arrogance. I think he intended this as act of solidarity and self-sacrifice. A better analogy is protests by US sprinters in 1968 in Mexico City.

Any Ethiopians here? Please speak up about how you interpret Lelisa's behavior at finish.

If he is stripped of his medal, it would go to an Eritrean. Ethiopian government doesn't want that.

English Please. wrote:

Mbongo wrote:

Mwache alionje joto la jiwe. Kwani alitumwa kuitukana nchi yake?

Je, unaweza tafadhali kutuma kwa Kiingereza. Nimechoka kutafsiri ujumbe wako.

Wachana na huyu mTanzania mwendawazimu. Total lack of empathy giving Tanzanians a bad name.

Oblivion wrote:

Rupp2k wrote:

I wish Rupp would of kicked him in the groin as they crossed the finish line. The arrogant prick decided to not shake his hands. I found it insanely cocky.

How do you know they didn't congratulate each other? Were you at the race? The feed I was watching didn't have a camera on one of the two the entire time they were in the finish area.

Lelisa walked right past Rupp to congratulate Kipchoge. He clearly ignored him. Maybe he doesn't like the palefaces

Good article on the Oromo protests

http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2016/06/ethiopia-rising-narrative-oromo-protests-160620140306460.html

This could the most significant policy gesture since Tommie Smith and John Carlos' Black Power salute in 1968. I work with refugees and the stories we're hearing are not good. DO NOT LET THIS MAN DOWN BY FORCING HIM TO GO BACK TO ETHIOPIA WHERE HE WILL BE KILLED. Brazil should grant him immediate asylum.

Wow. I was wondering what that was all about. Incredibly brave. Put some light on a situation that has not received much attention.

Here is some more info on recent happenings, about halfway down once you are past the recent drought information:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/08/19/the-things-ethiopia-doesnt-want-you-to-know-that-are-going-on-in-the-country/

He can come to the USA and we can take 1-2 in 2020.

This is serious.

https://twitter.com/ksieff/status/767403806200045569

Montesquieu wrote:

If true, this is a great story that LetsRun should follow up on with a detailed interview using a translator.

+1

And follow through with him as he, hopefully, is offered asylum in another country.

Blah Blah. wrote:

Lilesa also broke Olympic rule 50:

Rule 50 of the IOC’s charter states “no kind of demonstration or political, religious or racial propaganda is permitted in any Olympic sites, venues or other areas.”

athletes found in violation could face “disqualification or withdrawal of the accreditation of the person concerned.”

He may also lose his silver medal.

Nope. Rupp kissed his religious medal and made the sign of the cross. Many other runners made similar religious gestures.

Feyissa Lelisa had his wrists crossed as a sign of protest for thousands of people that are being jailed for asking for Constitutional rights. The Ethiopian government is jailing activists journalists. Today was a protest day which was quashed by the govt. 200 plus have been killed. Shot by special forces.

Surely the govt will jail him for showing a protest sign.

Blah Blah. wrote:

I believe Lelisa broke Olympic rule 50.

I have said this elsewhere and I will say it again here; rule 50 is an iniquitous joke. The notion that the Olympics is not political is like say Sunday Mass is not religious. The Olympics is one of the most political events in human history. Rule 50 is just the IOC bowing down to repressive governments who want a monopoly upon political expression. But there is no way they will invoke this rule. The Ethiopians want as little attention to this minor expression as possible. Disqualification would ensure a lot of press about their behavior back home. I salute Lelisa for his bravery.