China Accused of Violating Human Rights of Olympic Athletes in Quarantine

Rita Li
By Rita Li
February 7, 2022China News
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China Accused of Violating Human Rights of Olympic Athletes in Quarantine
Natalia Maliszewska of Poland during training, Short Track Training Venue, Beijing, China, on Feb. 7, 2022. (Aleksandra Szmigiel/Reuters)

China has been accused of violating the human rights of a Finnish ice hockey player who has been held in hotel quarantine in Beijing.

It comes as complaints pile up over poor conditions during athletes’ COVID-19 isolation, such as food, hygiene, and equipment for training.

“For some reason, [China] won’t respect his human rights and that’s not a great situation,” said Jukka Jalonen, the head coach of the Finnish men’s ice hockey team, in a press conference via Zoom on Feb. 6.

Marko Anttila, a ninth-round pick of the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2004 NHL draft, was “not getting good food” and was under tremendous mental stress, according to Jalonen.

“I spoke to him yesterday,” said the coach. “Marko is a strong guy, mentally. He is not depressed, but he’s pretty down. A couple of times a day he gets cold and tasteless spaghetti bolognese.”

Anttila remained absent while teammates trained at the National Indoor Stadium in Beijing. The country’s first game at the Beijing Olympics is due to start on Feb. 10 against Slovakia, but Anttila can only leave the quarantine hotel after two negative PCR tests 24 hours apart.

The athlete tested positive 18 days ago upon his arrival in China, despite several negative tests prior to his departure for Beijing, said team doctor Maarit Valtonen. “We are very helpless and we want Marko out of isolation,” he said.

Anttila is no longer infectious and the ongoing isolation is “not medically justified,” said the doctor. “Now it looks like it’s more of a culture and a policy,” he said.

“The attitude towards the virus is different here.”

More than 350 Olympic Games participants, including dozens of athletes, have tested positive on arrival in the Chinese capital since Jan. 23.

Horror Story

Polish short-track speed skater Natalia Maliszewska posted on Twitter that her Olympic journey had turned into a “horror” story after she tested positive on Jan. 30.

“At 3:00 am [on Feb. 5], people pull me out of solitary,” Maliszewska wrote, recalling her days in an isolation hotel room. “That night was a horror.”

“I was crying like crazy because I didn’t know what was going on. I did not feel safe at all,” she said on Feb. 7 after finally being cleared to compete.

Maliszewska said she slept with clothes on afterward, being afraid that someone would all of a sudden take her to solitary confinement again.

The skater was also excluded from taking part in the 500 meters heats on Feb. 5. Maliszewska said she was ruled in and out of the Games several times due to conflicting COVID-19 test results.

“I don’t believe all those tests now,” she said.

International Olympic Committee (IOC) Sports Director Kit McConnell told a news conference on Feb. 7 the committee had held a call with Olympic officials from countries represented at the Games to understand the issues the athletes were facing.

Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics - Previews - Day -3
A member of Team Norway (C) goes through security after arriving at the Olympic Village ahead of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games in Beijing, on Feb. 1, 2022. (Anthony Wallace/Pool/Getty Images)

Besides the two recent cases, team members from other countries also expressed frustration over quarantine conditions.

Germany’s team chief Dirk Schimmelpfennig told reporters on Feb. 5 that cleanliness, the quality of food, and WiFi conditions all needed immediate improvement. He then confirmed a day later that organizers had acted and improved conditions for the isolated athletes.

Russian biathlon competitor Valeria Vasnetsova said on Instagram from one of the hotels that her stomach hurt. “I’m very pale, and I have huge black circles around my eyes. I want all this to end. I cry every day. I’m very tired,” she said.

Swedish journalist Philip Gadd was whisked off to isolation in an ambulance when he arrived in Beijing on Wednesday.

“It was a really terrifying experience and it just felt like … it didn’t feel real. It felt like as if I was in a movie, a sci-fi movie or something,” said in a Zoom interview from his quarantine hotel.

Reuters contributed to this report.

From The Epoch Times

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