A second Belarusian athlete has vowed not to return home over fears for her safety after the kidnap of Olympic sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya.
Heptathlete Yana Maksimova, 32, who currently lives in Germany with her husband and daughter, said she has decided to stay there as the crackdown on protesters and government critics continues in Belarus.
Maksimava, who is married to Belarusian decathlete and Olympic silver medalist Andrey Krauchanka, said 'you can lose not only freedom but also even your life' under President Alexander Lukashenko's regime.
It comes as Tsimanouskaya, who evaded attempts to force her back to her homeland against her will after criticised Belarusian Olympic coaches at the weekend, is expected to land in the Austrian capital of Vienna following her flight to freedom.
Heptathlete Yana Maksimova, 32, who currently lives in Germany with her husband and daughter, said she has decided to stay there as the crackdown on protesters and government critics continues in Belarus
Maksimava, who is married to Belarusian decathlete and Olympic silver medalist Andrey Krauchanka, said 'you can lose not only freedom but also even your life' under President Alexander Lukashenko's regime.
Pictured: Maksimava competes in the 2017 European Athletics indoor championships
Tsimanouskaya returned to Tokyo's Narita airport this morning from the city's Polish embassy - where she sought sanctuary after begging police to step in on Sunday as officials tried to bundle her onto a flight to Minsk.
Maksimava, who is hoping to compete in the 2024 Olympics in Paris, said in a statement: 'Thinking and thinking for a long time, we decided not to return to Belarus.
'To our great regret, now there you can lose not only freedom, but also your life.'
The heptathlete, who came 17th in the women's heptathlon competition at the 2012 London Olympic Games but failed to qualify for the Olympics in Tokyo, added: 'Here there is an opportunity to breathe deeply and be one of those who are fighting for the freedom of their people, friends, we will definitely win.
'P.S.
Really hope that my sports career will continue and I will the opportunity to train and perform [and] prepare for the next Olympic Games.'
Maksimava, who is hoping to compete in the 2024 Olympics in Paris, said in a statement: 'Thinking and thinking for a long time, we decided not to return to Belarus.
To our great regret, now there you can lose not only freedom, but also your life.'
Maksimova is the latest Belarusian athlete to vow to not return to their home country.
Tsimanouskaya will step foot on Austrian soil today before boarding another plane heading to Warsaw in Poland on a humanitarian visa after she evaded attempts by the authorities to force her back to her homeland.
The athlete had been expected to fly directly from Tokyo to Warsaw but, amid concerns that Belarusian officials may still make efforts to snatch her, she changed plans at the last minute and took a flight heading to the Austrian capital of Vienna instead.
'According to our information, she is scheduled to head to Warsaw this evening,' an Austrian foreign ministry spokesman said.
The Austrian Airlines flight to Vienna departed Japan last morning local time and the rlight is scheduled to land at the capital at 4:05 p.m.
local time (1405 GMT).
Tsimanouskaya, masked and wearing blue jeans, a blue blouse and sunglasses, arrived in a police-escorted van at Narita airport - east of Tokyo - at 8.27am.
Belarusian Olympic sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya, center, arrives at Narita International Airport in Narita, east of Tokyo on Wednesday
She was seen leaving the Polish embassy in Tokyo in a darkened van with police şişli escort around 7.05am after luggage had been loaded into another van.
The flight from Narita International to Warsaw goes over Russia, Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, but narrowly avoids Belarusian airspace.
However the late switch to the Vienna flight came after her supporters expressed concerns about her safety even in the air - after Belarus forced a flight from Athens to Lithuania which skirted its borders to divert to Minsk in May using a bogus bomb threat.
On board was journalist Roman Protasevich, a fierce critic of President Alexander Lukashenko, who was hauled off when it landed and thrown into jail.
The International Olympic Committee said on Tuesday it had launched a formal probe into Tsimanouskaya's case and was expecting a report from Belarus.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken accused Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko's regime of intolerable 'transnational repression' in the matter.