{"id":425261,"date":"2011-05-17T00:35:15","date_gmt":"2011-05-17T00:35:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/2011\/05\/17\/imf-chief-sent-to-tough-ny-jail\/"},"modified":"2011-05-17T00:35:15","modified_gmt":"2011-05-17T00:35:15","slug":"imf-chief-sent-to-tough-ny-jail","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/05\/17\/imf-chief-sent-to-tough-ny-jail\/","title":{"rendered":"IMF chief sent to tough NY jail"},"content":{"rendered":"

16 May 2011<\/span> Last updated at<\/span> 20:35 ET<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn has been remanded in custody at New York’s notorious Rikers Island jail on charges of sexual assault.<\/p>\n

The judge said Mr Strauss-Kahn, 62, was a flight risk. He was arrested on Saturday after boarding a plane and accused of trying to rape a hotel maid.<\/p>\n

He faces seven charges and could be sentenced to up to 25 years in prison.<\/p>\n

Mr Strauss-Kahn, who had been seen as a favourite in France’s 2012 presidential elections, denies the charges.<\/p>\n

His lawyer expressed disappointment at bail being denied, but said his client would be exonerated.<\/p>\n

“This battle has just begun,” defence lawyer Benjamin Brafman told the court.<\/p>\n

Mr Strauss-Kahn had been due to attend an EU finance ministers’ meeting in Brussels to discuss financial bail-outs.<\/p>\n

The IMF has played a central role in organising rescue packages for the troubled economies of Portugal and Greece.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\"Defence<\/p>\n

Please turn on JavaScript.<\/strong> Media requires JavaScript to play.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n

Defence lawyer Benjamin Brafman spoke after the hearing<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The BBC’s Chris Morris in Brussels says the IMF chief has gained the trust of countries in Europe which are giving financial assistance, and those which are receiving it.<\/p>\n

The European Union says the scandal should not affect bail-outs for eurozone countries.<\/p>\n

Bail offer denied<\/span><\/p>\n

Jean-Claude Junker, the Luxembourg prime minister said: “I am very sad and upset. He is a friend of mine… Mr Strauss-Kahn is in the hands of American justice, it’s not up to us to comment on this, but it makes me deeply, deeply sad.”<\/p>\n

French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde described Mr Strauss-Kahn’s predicament was “crushing and painful”.<\/p>\n

Continue reading the main story<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cStart Quote<\/span><\/h2>\n
\n

When I hear your client was at JFK airport about to board a flight, that raises some concerns\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

End Quote<\/span> Judge Melissa Jackson<\/span>\n<\/div>\n

The IMF said in a statement that it had been briefed on the charges against its managing director, and that it would “continue to monitor developments”.<\/p>\n

Prosecutors told the court it was not the first time Mr Strauss-Kahn had been involved in such an incident and argued he had been arrested attempting to flee the country.<\/p>\n

Mr Strauss-Kahn’s lawyer Benjamin Brafman contested this, saying the defendant had not tried to flee the scene and was actually rushing for a lunch appointment.<\/p>\n

He added that Mr Strauss-Kahn later called the hotel to say he was at the airport and had left a mobile phone in his room.<\/p>\n

However Judge Melissa Jackson denied the defence’s offer to post $1m (\u00a3617,000) bail and agree to Mr Strauss-Kahn staying with his daughter in New York until the next hearing on Friday.<\/p>\n

“When I hear your client was at JFK airport about to board a flight, that raises some concerns,” Ms Jackson said.<\/p>\n

Continue reading the main story<\/a><\/p>\n

At the scene<\/h2>\n

On a rain-soaked Monday morning, the pavements outside the courthouse were blocked by reporters and cameras all waiting to catch a glimpse of this particularly high-profile defendant.<\/p>\n

Dominique Strauss-Kahn was brought from a holding cell to the courtroom looking pensive in a black overcoat. Cameramen and photographers jostled to try to capture an image of the IMF head and French presidential hopeful.<\/p>\n

But instead it was his New York lawyer who spoke to the waiting media after the judge said Mr Strauss-Kahn must remain in jail. Benjamin Brafman is well-known in legal circles in the US. His past clients have included other famous figures such as Michael Jackson and Sean P Diddy.<\/p>\n

When Mr Brafman emerged he told reporters that the battle had only just begun.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The charges relate to an alleged assault at the Times Square Sofitel hotel in New York.<\/p>\n

According to the New York Police Department, a 32-year-old maid told officers that when she entered his suite on Saturday afternoon, Mr Strauss-Kahn emerged from the bathroom naked, chased her and sexually assaulted her.<\/p>\n

The woman was able to break free and alert the authorities, a NYPD spokesman added.<\/p>\n

Later on Saturday Mr Strauss-Kahn was detained on board an Air France flight at New York’s John F Kennedy airport minutes before take-off.<\/p>\n

The IMF chief underwent medical examinations on Sunday. Police were looking for scratches or any other evidence of his alleged assault.<\/p>\n

He was later charged with a “criminal sexual act, unlawful imprisonment and attempted rape”. Police say the maid formally identified him in a line-up.<\/p>\n

‘Thunderbolt’<\/span><\/p>\n

Until he was arrested, Mr Strauss-Kahn was considered a favourite to become the Socialist candidate for the French presidency next year.<\/p>\n

Opinion polls gave him a good chance of defeating President Nicolas Sarkozy.<\/p>\n

Socialist party president Martine Aubry described his arrest as a “thunderbolt” but called for Mr Strauss-Kahn to be presumed innocent.<\/p>\n

Mr Strauss-Kahn’s wife, French TV personality Anne Sinclair, has also protested his innocence.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, another allegation against Mr Strauss-Kahn has emerged. A French writer says she may file a complaint for an alleged sexual assault in 2002.<\/p>\n

Tristane Banon, 31, says Mr Strauss-Kahn tried to rape her when she went to interview him for a book she was writing.<\/p>\n

“We’re planning to make a complaint,” Ms Banon’s lawyer told AFP news agency. Mr Strauss-Kahn’s lawyers have so far not responded to the allegation.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Link:
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