He strode across the finish line with his arms crossed over his head in a sign of solidarity for the Oromo people, his native group and the largest ethnic group in Ethiopia. The government was brutal in putting down the demonstrations, nonprofit groups like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch reported. Human Rights Watch said that since November, more than 400 people have been killed and tens of thousands arrested. In response to the protests and the report from Human Rights Watch, Getachew Reda, Ethiopia's Minister of Communications, told CNN that the country's security response was standard police protocol to disperse "rioters." Lilesa won silver on Sunday with a time of 2:09:54, finishing behind liud Kipchoge of Kenya.

Source: CameroonWeb August 22, 2016 16:04 UTC