Two of the participants in the event called “KohLantess”, organized within the prison of Fresnes (Val-de-Marne) for the benefit of charities, were convicted of crimes, learned franceinfo from close sources. In this game inspired by the show Koh-Lanta, shot at the end of July in the prison courtyard, inmates, guards and residents of Fresnes competed in filmed events, including a karting event. One of the participating inmates was convicted of murder, the other of rape.
Franceinfo was able to consult the criminal record of the latter. He is a 31-year-old man, sentenced for rape to 10 years of criminal imprisonment, by the Val-de-Marne Assize Court in February 2021. According to his file, he must be released from prison in 2031. He had already been sentenced in 2018 for violence with the use or threat of a weapon and, in 2013, to 4 years in prison for aggravated theft in recidivism. Other convictions for various offenses related to drug trafficking also appear on his criminal file.
The organizers of the event announced on Monday the removal “without delay” from the video “KohLantess at Fresnes prison”, “out of respect for the victims”. “We learned that one of the participating inmates had a long criminal record”they said in a statement posted on social networks, adding that if they had known the profile of these detainees, “the video would never have been shot let alone released.”
According to them, “the sine qua non” to the production of this video was not respected by the penitentiary center, namely: “no penalty resulting from harm to the physical and/or moral integrity of a person”. “The trust we placed in the Fresnes penitentiary center as well as in the Ministry of Justice has been broken”, lamented the organizers. They also asked the prison to pay the entirety of the promise of donations to an association for the aid of victims.
The Ministry of Justice, for its part, assured that it had not been informed of the organization of the event, nor of the participants, nor of the activities. The choice of participating inmates is at the discretion of the prison management, for any activities or events taking place there.