Right now, I just have the bare outline and will update when I have the details.
The Afghan Chess Federation endorsed the Kok ticket and sent a team to Turin. Then, a pro-Ilyumzhinov faction took over the federation two weeks before Turin and new players (men only) were sent Turin in addition to the players who had already arrived.
The women had already sat down for round one when they were told that their national federation had withdrawn its support for them. They were in tears as they got up from the boards. The new president of the federation apparently said that he could get into trouble back home if he allowed this team to play. This statement has two possible interpretations, one being that he could get into trouble for allowing any women to play, the other being that the team consisted entirely of expats, three Uzbeks who had recently changed federations and a woman born in France with an Afghani father (and hence Afghan citizenship).
On the men’s side, the original team had been determined by a qualifying tournament back in Afghanistan. But some of the players had visa problems and last minute replacements for some of them was found (including an Afghani living in Canada who had played for Afghanistan previously). A four-player Afghan men’s team was therefore in Turin. The Afghan-Canadian, along with Mohammad Jamshedy, the president of the previous administration, and one other from the original team were thrown off. Three who had previously qualified but didn’t arrive until the last minute because of their visa problems replaced them. The final replacement, bringing the team to six, was the new president who, unlike Jamshedy, is a weak player without a rating.
There are suspicious circumstances surrounding the coup but also some sound reasons for replacing at least some of the players. More investigation is necessary. Many thanks to Ian and Cathy Rogers for bringing this to my attention.
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