NAIROBI, Kenya — One day after winning silver in the Olympic marathon, Feyisa Lilesa faced a much different decision than other medalists: Would it be safe for him to return home?
As he finished the race Sunday, Lilesa held his arms above his head in an “X,” a sign of protest used against the Ethiopian government for its persecution of the Oromo ethnic group. Lilesa took a brave stand, and at a news conference, it was clear he knew the price he might have to pay.
“If I go back to Ethiopia, maybe they will kill me,” he said Sunday. “If not kill me, they will put me in prison. I have not decided yet, but maybe I will move to another country,” he said.
On Monday, faced with international attention, the Ethiopian government said they would not punish Lilesa upon his return.
“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,” Getachew Reda, a government spokesman, told one of Ethiopia’s state broadcasters.
But Ethiopians were concerned for his safety. On one fundraising website, people donated more than $40,000 in 15 hours to Lilesa’s cause.
“Feyisa Lilesa faces persecution if he goes back to Ethiopia and he has decided to seek asylum,” wrote the fundraisers. “Funds are needed to support him and his family in the meantime.”
Despite Reda’s promise that Lilesa would be welcomed back, there has been almost no mention of Lilesa’s marathon performance in the state media’s reports.
One program led with Ethiopia’s Under 17 team winning a qualifying soccer match against an Egyptian team. Then the broadcaster talked about Ethiopia’s poor showing before finally mentioning the Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge winning the marathon while Lilesa “only” received the silver. He then talked more about the Kenyan winner, with no further mention of Lilesa.
Lilesa’s fear that he will be jailed is borne out in the experiences of other Ethiopians. In 2012, Eskinder Nega, a blogger, was sentenced to 18 years in prison and Woubshet Taye, a journalist, was sentenced to 14 years. Both were convicted on terrorism charges. In 2014, the Committee to Protect Journalists declared Ethiopia “the fourth worst jailer of journalists in the world.”
Protests have increased in Ethiopia in recent months, and many of them turned violent after government forces turned their weapons on civilians. According to Human Rights Watch, 400 people have been killed since November.
