Human Rights Watch (HRW), a human rights organization known for its anti-Israel bias, hosted a seminar Tuesday in which athletes traveling to China for the Winter Olympics were advised to stay quiet about human rights issues while in the country.
Jan 18 (Reuters) – Athletes travelling to next month’s Beijing Olympics were warned on Tuesday about speaking up on human rights issues while in China for their own safety by speakers at a seminar hosted by Human Rights Watch.
“There’s really not much protection that we believe is going to be afforded to athletes,” Rob Koehler, the director general of the Global Athlete group, said in the seminar. “Silence is complicity and that’s why we have concerns.
“So we’re advising athletes not to speak up. We want them to compete and use their voice when they get home.”
“Chinese laws are very vague on the crimes that can be used to prosecute people’s free speech,” Human Rights Watch researcher Yaqiu Wang said.
“People can be charged with picking quarrels or provoking trouble. There are all kinds of crimes that can be levelled at peaceful, critical comments.”
"There's really not much protection that we believe is going to be afforded to athlet... (Read more)
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