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German Broadcaster's Satire About Russian Paralympic Ban Sparks Rally in Moscow

© Sputnik / Maksim Bogodvid / Go to the mediabankThe Paralympic flag and the Russian national flag. (File)
The Paralympic flag and the Russian national flag. (File) - Sputnik International
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Dozens of people gathered near the German Embassy in Moscow in protest at a satirical cartoon about the Russian Paralympic team's ban from the 2016 Summer Olympics published by the German broadcaster Deutsche Welle, the youth wing of Russia's ruling United Russia party, Molodaya Gvardiya (Young Guard), said Tuesday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Earlier this month, Deutsche Welle published a cartoon created by Russian political cartoonist Sergey Elkin, showing the Olympic logo with one ring acting as a wheelchair for a Russian disabled athlete, who is heading away.

"Today, on August 16, around 50 people took part in a picket near the German embassy in Moscow, mostly students and young people. According to the participants, they have all come to express their protest over the caricature published by Deutsche Welle regarding the Russian Paralympic team," the organization said in a statement.

Kseniya Ovsyannikova (right) and Anna Petukhova, members of the Russian wheeled fencing team, attending a press conference on Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro - Sputnik International
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Protesters held banners demanding the cartoon be taken down as well as an apology from the broadcaster, expressing resentment at the distorted depiction of Olympic symbols and its treatment of Russian disabled athletes.

"We demand the German broadcaster immediately remove the cartoon, as it is offensive not only to disabled athletes, but also to the entire Olympic movement. Furthermore, Deutsche Welle must apologize to our Paralympic athletes for the inappropriate and disrespectful attitude to sport and to people with limited physical abilities," Molodaya Gvardiya leader Denis Davydov said at the event.

The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) suspended Russia’s membership in early August citing the country's alleged failure to comply with the organization’s anti-doping rules. The Russian Paralympic Committee has appealed the decision through the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), with the appeal due to be heard on August 21.

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