Doping whistleblower Rodchenkov meets with US senators
Members of the U.S. Helsinki Commission, Senators Ben Cardin and Cory Gardner, and Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee held a meeting on Capitol Hill with the former head of the Moscow Anti-Doping Laboratory Grigory Rodchenkov, who was the first to report the existence of a state-supported doping program in Russian sports.
The website of the commission says that during the meeting, threats to the United States from Russia, corruption in international sports structures, and possible measures to prevent the use of doping in world sports were discussed. One of the topics was the issue of safety for Grigory Rodchenkov himself, who is forced to hide in the United States.
"The case of Dr. Rodchenkov is another example of the Kremlin's readiness to ignore international norms and standards," Senator Ben Cardin said. "It is humiliating that he should continue to fear for his life, and was forced to come to a meeting today in a ski mask, hiding his face. But after the recent chemical attack in England against Sergei Skripal, his decision is completely and tragically justified. I am inspired by and admire the courage of Dr. Rodchenkov. I will continue to speak in defense of fundamental human rights in Russia, and put pressure on the administration in order to actively counteract Russia's attacks on our norms and values."