Questions Marks Over Another IOC member
The Ekstra Bladet newspaper published two articles about IOC member General Lassana Palenfo. They have been freely translated.
The second story by Sverre Qvist and Bo Elkjaer
WELCOME to The Club: Ivory Coast General Lassana Palenfo has murder, torture and rapes on his consciences.
This man will this morning stand in the line of bullies and cheaters - and shake hands with Crown Prince Fredrick at the Bella Center, welcoming him into the IOC.
Lassana Palenfo was for several years a senior general in the Ivory Coast.
In 2000 he was second in command of the junta led by Robert Guei who won power after a bloody attack on Christmas 1999. Moreover, Palenfo was minister responsible for security in both 1991-1993 and 2000.
Jail for attack
Lassana Palenfo now lives in Paris, but is from the Ivory Coast and former General, Minister of Security and Deputy Commander of the military junta, that took power in the West African country after a military coup on Christmas 1999.
General Palenfo was also Minister of Security in the country's former regimes from 1991 to 1993. Both then and in 2000 the regimes left a trail of blood and Africans who had been raped, tortured and executed without any justice.
Students were mass raped, and organized forces tortured and liquidated the regime's opponents. Security forces in Ivory Coast in 2000 were noted to have committed some of the most heinous atrocities during 'three decades', according to reports from Amnesty International and the U.S. State Department.
The name of Interior Minister in charge of security was Lassana Palenfo. Each time Lassana Palenfo was - as Minister - responsible for security.
Nevertheless, Lassana Palenfo was a free man until Saturday 8th November 2000. Then he was suspected of being behind an assassination attack on the junta leader Robert Guei, who controlled the country - and Lassana Palenfo was imprisoned.
IOC was exit ticket from prison
In prison he soon got support from an unexpected place. Far from the African continent was the then IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch and he needed votes to award Beijing the Olympics for 2008, The Times wrote. The IOC sent Francois Werner, who investigated corrupt members, to the prison in Abidjan.
Here Mr Werner assessed (judged) General Palenfos smooth face to be proof enough that he was innocent. He briefed Lassana Palenfo that the IOC-president Samaranch had contacted the authorities to ensure that Lassana Palenfo would be out, so he could vote for Beijing.
Today Lassana Palenfo still is suspected of embezzlement of millions, and sources in Ivory Coast believe that he will get 15 years in prison if he is convicted of his responsibility for the death squads.
But the French authorities do not want to extradite former General for prosecution in his homeland.
So today it happens: Bullies and cheats like Palenfo will be ready to welcome Crown Prince Frederik a warm welcome to the IOC.