Paralympic ban ‘outside law, morality, humanity’

PRESIDENT Vladimir Putin yesterday lashed out against the ban on Russian Paralympians from Rio as the country has vowed to fight the suspension over state-sponsored doping. “The decision to suspend our Paralympians is outside the law, morality, humanity,” Putin said in a ceremony at the Kremlin that honoured the Russian Olympic medallists returning from Rio. Putin also pledged that the country would organise competitions for the banned Paralympians “to show all their skills”. At the competitions, “the reward for the champions and winners will be the same as it would have been at the end of the Paralympic Games”, the Kremlin strongman said.