UN Group "Seriously Concerned" About Brazil Justice System
A United Nations panel said it's "seriously concerned" that authorities in Brazil could employ excessive arrests and incarceration of poor citizens ahead of the 2014 FIFA World Cup and 2016 Olympics.
The Working Group on Arbitration Detention paid a visit to Brazil from March 18 to 28 and published its findings, saying "access to justice for arrested persons and detainees is severely deficient in many aspects" in Brazil, adding the country has one of the world’s largest prison populations.
Of particular concern is the arrest of drug users in Brazil, specifically users of crack cocaine.
"Police agents are said to target drug users in order to arrest them and have often carried out arrests indiscriminately," the Working Group said in its statement. "The Working Group is seriously concerned with information that these measures are also strongly enforced due to forthcoming major events such as the World Cup in 2014 and the Summer Olympic Games in 2016 which Brazil will host."
Rugby Sevens Returns to Tokyo
Tokyo 2020 touts this weekend’s HSBC Seven World Series as the bid city’s latest opportunity to showcase its "organizational expertise and unmatched passion for international sport".
Prince Chichibu Memorial Rugby Stadium, the home of Japanese rugby and one of the football venues built for Tokyo 1964 Games, will for the second straight year stage the top-tier, 16-team tournament.
"Tokyo, a frequent host of major international competitions, knows how to support athletes, sport enthusiasts and officials with the highest standards of organization," said IOC member and Tokyo 2020 president Tsunekazu Takeda.
"We are particularly thrilled that Tokyo will host the IRB Rugby World Cup 2019, which would be a terrific run-up to the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games."
After a 92-year hiatus from the Games, rugby will make its return to the Olympics at Rio 2016 and is guaranteed a spot on the 2020 program as well.
Bulgarian President Backs Campaign for Wrestling Reinstatement
President Rossen Plevneliev is the latest Bulgarian to cry foul at the IOC Executive Board’s recent recommendationthat wrestling be dropped from the 2020 Olympics.
"It should not be forgotten that wrestling is one of the oldest sports at the Games and has accumulated much authority and interest over the years," he wrote Thursday in a letter sent to the Bulgarian Wrestling Federation and seen by The Sofia Globe.
At the London 2012 Olympics, wrestling accounted for five of Bulgaria’s seven medals. The country ranks fifth in the all-time medals table for the sport with 68 to date, including 16 golds.
"Thanks to several golden generations of Bulgarian wrestlers, our country deservedly takes its place in the top 10 all-time medal table," Plevneliev said. "This is why I categorically support all efforts towards keeping wrestling an Olympic sport and believe that such efforts will be successful."
In the weeks since the Feb. 12 decision from the IOC, world and Olympic champion Valentin Yordanov of Bulgaria returned his gold medal from Atlanta 1996 in protest while double Olympic champion and countryman Armen Nazaryan went on hunger strike.
Soraya Jimenez, First Female Mexican Gold Medalist, 35
Soraya Jimenez, Mexico’s first female gold medalist, died on Thursday. She was 35.
The Mexican Olympic Committee says she died of a heart attack.
At the 2000 Sydney Olympics, Jimenez won the 58kg event, the first time women’s weightlifting was contested at an Olympics.
"I regret the death of Mexican athlete and Olympic medallist Soraya Jimenez," said Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto. My condolences to her family."
Greek Federation Suspends Stipend
Greek athlete Voula Papachristou’s stipend was suspended by the Greek athletics federation, SEGAS.
A statement on the federation’s website cited previous "improper preparation" and a lack of competition as the reasons. The suspension will be lifted once she returns to high-level competition and trains with a federation-selected coach.
Leading up to the London Olympics, Papachristou made an offensive post on Twitter and was dismissed from the Olympic team.
Written by Ed Hula III.
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