Ethiopian Olympic protest runner Feyisa Lilesa reunited with his broken family

Ethiopian runner Feyisa Lilesa, famous for his protest at
 the Rio Olympics, has been reunited with his family for
 the first time since going into exile.

He crossed his wrists over his head as he took silver in
 the marathon in a gesture against the Ethiopian
 government's treatment of Oromo people.

Afterwards he refused to go home, saying his life might be
 in danger.

Now in the US, it is the first time he has seen his wife and
 two young children for at least six months.

He told the Associated Press news agency that the 
decision to leave his family behind had been a necessary 
risk.

"Putting them potentially in harm's way was a good lesson
 for a lot of people that you need to sacrifice in order for 
you to win some concessions and change your situation,"
 he said.

"In that sense, it inspires people to fight for their rights
 and resist the government in Ethiopia." In September 
the athlete left Brazil for the US, where he is staying on a special skills visa.

His family arrived with visas as well, AP reports.

Mr Feyisa became the first Ethiopian to finish in the top two
 of a men's Olympics marathon since 2000, claiming silver behind Kenya's Eliud Kipchoge.

After his political protest, Ethiopian officials denied he
 was in danger, saying he would be welcomed home from 
Rio as a hero.

At the time, Mr Feyisa said he had relatives who were in 
prison and if they talked about democratic rights they 
would be killed.

He is from Oromia, home to most of Ethiopia's 35 million Oromo people, the country's largest ethnic group.

A wave of anti-government protests began in the region
 in November 2015 with people complaining about social 
and political marginalisation.

During the protests and police crackdowns, they used
 the symbol of crossing their arms above their heads to 
mark their defiance.

In October, a six-month state of emergency was imposed
 in Ethiopia to deal with the unprecedented anti-government unrest.