CSW's 2012 Cry Freedom campaign is highlighting six of the most repressive regimes in the world.  As all six nations send athletes to London for the Olympics, it's surreal to think that even on British soil, many of these athletes are not free at all.

The death of a dissident and defections from Cuba

A young Cuban exile recently interviewed by CSW staff maintained that every year Cuban athletes try to break free of the Communist regime that has dominated for over 50 years.  In a country where citizens must request permission from the authorities to travel beyond their local district, let alone their country, it's not hard to see why Cuban athletes competing abroad would try to escape.  A tiny number of athletes manage to slip past their minders each year.  The Cuban boxing team was dealt the blow of five defections last year, but are nevertheless publicly positive about making a comeback for the London Olympics.

Cuba's entry into the London 2012 Games comes just days after one of the shining lights of Cuba's dissident movement, Oswalda Paya, a committed Catholic, was killed in an apparently suspicious car crash.  Several other dissidents were detained as they left the church where his funeral was held on Tuesday 24 July.

Korean confusion highlights two different ideologies

Like the Cubans, North Korean athletes are constantly monitored while competing abroad.  With such a big brother mentality at work, it's not hard to understand the repercussions of the accidental display of the South Korean flag alongside the North Korean women's football team. The two Asian nations still technically at war and are complete opposites in politics, economics and have very different approaches to human rights.  Any kind of shame brought to North Korea by its athletes, perceived or real, has been dealt with in the harshest manner in the past. No member of the North Korean team will  be excused any blunders, unlike the London organisers who embarrassingly mixed up the two country's flags.

Eritrea's runaway footballers

Back in 2009, twelve Eritrean footballers representing the national team escaped in Kenya and were later given asylum in Australia.  However, this was  not an isolated incident – in the summer of 2011, thirteen players from a local side went missing in Tanzania during an away tournament.  Africa's equivalent to North Korea, Eritrea's totalitarian regime is known to imprison people indefinitely in the scorching heat of the desert in metal shipping containers and is responsible for a litany of grave human rights abuses, including shoot-to-kill policies for those who try to cross the border.  For the average Eritrean athlete, the opportunity presented by a tournament abroad must be one of the strongest chances to leave the country unharmed.

China's thirst for medals

Despite a questionable human rights record, China is being tipped to take the highest medal tally of the Games.  Yet critics such as the internationally renowned artist, Ai Wei Wei, and other dissidents are restricted from travelling outside the country because they are willing to share an alternative view in the public arena.  Human rights lawyers such as Gao Zhisheng have been penalised for speaking out against the government.  Other activists point out that medals simply cannot distract from the ill treatment of citizens who live out principles of justice and free speech, like China's many bloggers and dissidents.

The inseparability of politics and sport

Many believe that sport and politics should be kept separate.  As CSW's campaign this month puts Burma in the spotlight, its athletes will also compete in the London Olympics.  It seems clear that for several repressive regimes, politics regulates the very behaviour of their athletes when on foreign soil.  Politics can't keep away from sport, and repressive regimes perhaps illustrate this most clearly.

Please keep all of the Olympians in mind, and pray that in London they will perceive signs of freedom that will inspire hope and positive change in their lives and in the lives of their countrymen.

Join us at CSW National Conference 2012

Hear the latest news from the frontlines of fighting religious persecution, be inspired by uplifting worship, and encouraged by moving testimonies.

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Don't miss out – the CSW National Conference on 10 November promises to be truly exceptional.