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Organisers of the Boston Marathon, the Boston Athletic Association, have banned athletes from Russia and Belarus due to the illegal war in Ukraine. The ban includes any level of participant, regardless if they were approved to take part in the 2022 edition.
“Like so many around the world, we are horrified and outraged by what we have seen and learned from the reporting in Ukraine,” B.A.A. President and CEO Tom Grilk said in a statement. “We believe that running is a global sport, and as such, we must do what we can to show our support to the people of Ukraine.”
The B.A.A. has announced that Russians & Belarusians who were accepted into the 2022 Boston Marathon or B.A.A. 5K as part of the open registration process & are currently residing in either country will no longer be allowed to compete in either event.https://t.co/pAwqGqJxOI
— Boston Marathon (@bostonmarathon) April 6, 2022
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Most of the world leaders and citizens disagree with the illegal war and have brought sanctions down on the two countries. Allegedly, Russia has instigated talks with Ukraine more than once and agreed to a ceasefire only to continue bombing and shooting.
Since the attack launched on Feb. 24, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said that 1,232 Ukrainian civilians have been killed. While 1,935 have been injured. There have been 250 civilian men, 176 civilian women killed and 18 were girls and 36 were boys. These are confirmed numbers. The OHCHR believes that the actual figures are considerably higher.
According to Amnesty International Russian military forces have extrajudicially executed civilians in Ukraine.
“In recent weeks, we have gathered evidence that Russian forces have committed extrajudicial executions and other unlawful killings, which must be investigated as likely war crimes,” said Agnès Callamard, Secretary-General of Amnesty International.
“Testimonies show that unarmed civilians in Ukraine are being killed in their homes and streets in acts of unspeakable cruelty and shocking brutality.
“The intentional killing of civilians is a human rights violation and a war crime. These deaths must be thoroughly investigated, and those responsible must be prosecuted, including up the chain of command.”