Strauss-Kahn to face French accuser before judge

Former IMF chief and Tristane Banon, who accuses him of trying to rape her in 2003, must appear at judge’s chambers The former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn and the woman who accuses him of trying to rape her in 2003 have been ordered to appear before a judge as part of an investigation into the case, the Paris prosecutor’s office said on Friday. Tristane Banon, a French writer, says Strauss-Kahn attacked her while she was interviewing him in 2003, when he was a senior figure in the opposition Socialist party. He has derided her version of the events as imaginary and sued her for slander. Strauss-Kahn has already undergone one legal battle this year after being charged with trying to rape a hotel maid in New York. Those charges were dropped, but not before he resigned as head of the International Monetary Fund and lost his chance to run in France’s forthcoming presidential election, in which he was considered a leading contender. He still faces a civil suit in that case. Banon lodged her complaint after Strauss-Kahn’s arrest in New York in May , saying her mother and others had discouraged her from speaking out earlier because Strauss-Kahn was so powerful. The prosecutor’s office is investigating the accusations, but has not yet decided whether to bring charges. It gave no date for the meeting, which is sometimes part of criminal investigations in France, particularly in cases that rest largely on conflicting testimony. Banon and Strauss-Kahn are asked to face each other in a judge’s chambers and recount their stories. They have already spoken to police. Dominique Strauss-Kahn France Europe guardian.co.uk

Posted by on September 23, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.