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Usmanov urges IOC to let Russia flag fly at 2018 Olympics

LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) - A leading Russian sports official has urged the IOC to reverse a ban on the country's flag from the Pyeongchang Olympics.

Alisher Usmanov, the president of the International Fencing Federation, said the legal principle of "No guilt, no punishment" means clean Russian athletes are being denied "basic human rights."

"Even though discrimination in any shape or form contradicts the principles of the Olympic Movement, the IOC's decision certainly does put clean Russian athletes on an uneven playing field with athletes from other countries," Usmanov wrote in an open letter to International Olympic Committee executive board members.

The board is chaired by IOC President Thomas Bach, an Olympic gold medalist in fencing.

The IOC imposed a range of sanctions this week on Russia for organized doping at the 2014 Sochi Games.

Only Russians who are invited by an IOC-appointed panel can compete at the Feb. 9-25 games as an "Olympic Athlete from Russia," in a neutral uniform and without their flag or anthem.

Usmanov asked the IOC to let Russian gold medalists "reach the summit of their dream and see the flag of their motherland in Pyeongchang's sky."

The Uzbekistan-born oligarch has long been a close ally of the Russian government and President Vladimir Putin.

Usmanov is also a minority shareholder in English soccer club Arsenal, but he has been denied a seat on the board of directors.

FILE - In this Thursday, Sept. 12, 2013 file photo, Uzbek-born Russian businessman Alisher Usmanov attends a meeting of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Crown Prince Sheik Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan of the United Arab Emirates at the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence outside Moscow. Usmanov, who is a leading Russian sports official, has urged the IOC to reverse a ban on the country's flag from the Pyeongchang Olympics, it was reported Friday, Dec. 8, 2017. (Maxim Shemetov/Pool Photo via AP, File) The Associated Press
The Olympic sign is seen through a glass, with International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach, from Germany, during a media conference after the second day of the executive board meeting of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), in Lausanne, Switzerland, Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2017. The International Olympic Committee on Tuesday banned the Russian Olympic team from the upcoming South Korea games as punishment for doping violations at the 2014 Sochi Olympics.(Laurent Gillieron/dpa via AP) The Associated Press
The logo of the Russian Olympic Committee is mounted at the entrance of the head office in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2017. The International Olympic Committee has barred the Russian team from competing at the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang in February over widespread doping at the last Winter Games in 2014. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin) The Associated Press
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