IOC removes two Belarus coaches in Tsimanouskaya case

• "In the interest of the wellbeing of the athletes of the NOC of Belarus who are still in Tokyo and as a provisional measure, the IOC cancelled and removed last night the accreditations of the two coaches, Mr A. Shimak and Mr Y. Maisevich," the IOC tweeted.
• The move to send the two coaches home is a provisional measure while a formal investigation gets underway. Shimak and Maisevich "will be offered an opportunity to be heard," IOC said.

The big picture: Tsimanouskaya refused national team orders to return home to Belarus after officials took her to Tokyo's Haneda airport following her criticism of Belarusian coaches.

• Tsimanouskaya arrived in Warsaw, Poland, on Thursday, where she reunited with her husband. The 24-year-old Olympian received a humanitarian visa from Poland after deciding to defect from her home country when she received a phone call from her grandmother telling her not to return, Reuters reported.

• Tsimanouskaya said earlier this week that officials told her that she "would definitely face some form of punishment" if she returned home.
• Belarus is in the midst of a political crisis, with leader Aleksandr Lukashenko cracking down on dissidents. Many critics have been detained or have fled the country in recent months.