Ethiopian runners: Police confirm athletes defected to escape civil unrest
The names of the four pictured athletes are (from left to right):
Amanuel Abebe Atibeha; Dureti Edao; Meaza Kebede; Zeyituna Mohammed.
August 2, 2014 (WSJ) — The four Ethiopian runners who disappeared from
the IAAF Junior World Championships in Eugene this past weekend
defected from their home country to avoid returning to widespread civil
unrest there, police confirmed in a report released late Friday.
The report, provided by police in Federal Way, Washington, describes an interview with Zeyituna Mohammed, an 18-year-old woman runner on the Ethiopian national
team. She told police that she and the other athletes decided to stay
in the U.S. because they were too afraid to return to Ethiopia.
team. She told police that she and the other athletes decided to stay
in the U.S. because they were too afraid to return to Ethiopia.
The report confirms for the first time
what many close to the case, including the team’s coaches, had
suspected — that the athletes’ disappearance was part of a plan to
defect from Ethiopia.
what many close to the case, including the team’s coaches, had
suspected — that the athletes’ disappearance was part of a plan to
defect from Ethiopia.
Mohammed told authories she may seek asylum in the U.S., but she is not certain of her plans. It remains unclear whether the other three athletes, whom police found in Beaverton earlier this week, are planning to do so.
three athletes, whom police found in Beaverton earlier this week, are planning to do so.
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