Ethiopia will not bar runner Feyisa Lilesa from entering the country after he made an anti-government gesture upon finishing second in the Olympic marathon on Sunday, according to a government spokesman.

Lilesa held his arms over his head, wrists crossed, as he strode across the finish line to claim the silver medal in Rio de Janeiro – mimicking a gesture made by the Oromo people who have suffered brutal police crackdowns.

The 26-year-old, who told journalists after the race that he might be killed if he returned home, is a member of the Oromo ethnic group, hundreds of whom have reportedly died in clashes with Ethiopian security forces since November 2015.