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August 25, 2016

Ethiopian Silver Medalist Who Staged Olympic Protest Fears Returning Home
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Ethiopian Olympic runner Feyisa Lelisa is expressing concern about going
home, after he raised his arms in an "X" as he won a silver medal in the
marathon to protest Ethiopia's human rights abuses against his ethnic
tribe, the Oromo people. For over two years, the Oromo have staged
massive nationwide protests against the Ethiopian government. The
protests were initially sparked by the government's plan to lease a
forest to private developers. Ethiopian forces have responded with a
brutal crackdown against the Oromo protesters, killing hundreds of
people. This is Feyisa Lelisa's wife, speaking about her husband's
Olympic protest.

Iftu Mulisa: "I was very scared at the time, but I wasn't surprised,
because I know him. He was burning inside when he sees on social media
all these dead bodies, people being beaten and people being arrested. So
I was not surprised, because I know he has a lot of anger inside."



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