International Olympic Committee Press Release View this press release online

November 7, 2017

IOC Statement on IOC Member Mr Frank Fredericks The IOC Executive Board (EB) met today to discuss the evolution of the situation of the IOC Member in Namibia, Mr Frank Fredericks. It followed a meeting of the IOC Ethics Commission on Monday (6 November 2017), shortly after Mr Frank Fredericks was officially charged by a French judge (3 November 2017). The IOC Ethics Commission stressed that, considering the current status of the file, "it is not in a position to make a recommendation on the value of the facts". The Commission once again "recalled the importance of respecting the principle of the presumption of innocence for any person concerned by a criminal investigation". Considering "the impact on the reputation of the IOC", the IOC Ethics Commission nonetheless recommended suspending Mr Frank Fredericks from all his rights as an IOC Member. The IOC EB took note of the recommendation of the IOC Ethics Commission for Mr Fredericks and reiterated the full commitment of the IOC to cooperate with the French judicial authorities, as the IOC has the status of "Partie Civile" in this ongoing procedure. After careful deliberation, the IOC EB took the following decision: "Considering the gravity and urgency of the situation and its impact on the reputation of the IOC, the IOC EB decides to suspend Mr Frank Fredericks from all the rights, prerogatives and functions deriving from his quality as an IOC Member." NOTES Today’s decision by the IOC EB follows a previous meeting of the EB on 7 March 2017 when the Board decided the following:  - In line with the recommendation of the IOC Ethics Commission, the IOC EB accepts the resignation of Mr Frank Fredericks from the Evaluation Commission for the Olympic Games 2024. - In line with the recommendation of the IOC Ethics Commission, the IOC EB accepts the provisional self-suspension of Mr. Fredericks from the IOC Coordination Commission for the Youth Olympic Games Buenos Aires 2018. - The IOC EB accepts Mr Fredericks’ non-participation in the Candidate City Briefing 2024 for IOC Members and Summer Olympic International Federations in July 2017 in Lausanne and the IOC Session in Lima, Peru, in September 2017.  ### The International Olympic Committee is a not-for-profit independent international organisation made up of volunteers, which is committed to building a better world through sport. It redistributes more than 90 per cent of its income to the wider sporting movement, which means that every day the equivalent of 3.4 million US dollars goes to help athletes and sports organisations at all levels around the world. ### For more information, please contact the IOC Media Relations Team: Tel: +41 21 621 6000, email: pressoffice@olympic.org, or visit our web site at www.olympic.org. Broadcast quality footage The IOC Newsroom: http://iocnewsroom.com/ Videos YouTube: www.youtube.com/iocmedia Photos For an extensive selection of photos available shortly after each event, please follow us on Flickr. To request archive photos and footage, please contact our Images team at: images@olympic.org.