{"id":425481,"date":"2011-05-17T11:36:47","date_gmt":"2011-05-17T11:36:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/2011\/05\/17\/pressure-on-imf-chief-to-resign\/"},"modified":"2011-05-17T11:36:47","modified_gmt":"2011-05-17T11:36:47","slug":"pressure-on-imf-chief-to-resign","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/05\/17\/pressure-on-imf-chief-to-resign\/","title":{"rendered":"Pressure on IMF chief to resign"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><div readability=\"158.046796657\"><span><span>17 May 2011<\/span> <span>Last updated at<\/span> <span>07:36 ET<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<div readability=\"32\">\n<div>\n<div readability=\"7\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"holding\" src=\"http:\/\/news.bbcimg.co.uk\/media\/images\/52784000\/jpg\/_52784949_jex_1047310_de27-1.jpg\" alt=\"Dominique Strauss Kahn\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>Please turn on JavaScript.<\/strong> Media requires JavaScript to play.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p>Strauss-Kahn was refused bail on charges of trying to rape a maid<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Pressure is mounting on Dominique Strauss-Kahn to step down as head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).<\/p>\n<p>Austrian finance minister Maria Fekter called on him to consider his position.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, her Spanish counterpart, Elana Salgado, gave her support for the victim of his alleged sexual assault.<\/p>\n<p>Mr Strauss-Kahn has been remanded in custody at New York&#8217;s notorious Rikers Island jail, following his arrest on Saturday for the attempted rape of a hotel maid.<\/p>\n<p>He was arrested after boarding a plane, prompting the judge to say that Mr Strauss-Kahn, 62, was a flight risk.<\/p>\n<p>He faces seven charges and could be sentenced to up to 25 years in prison.<\/p>\n<p>Mr Strauss-Kahn, who had been seen as a favourite in France&#8217;s 2012 presidential elections, denies the charges.<\/p>\n<p>The defence offered to post $1m (\u00a3617,000) bail, with Mr Strauss-Kahn to stay at his daughter&#8217;s address in New York until the next hearing on Friday. However, Judge Melissa Jackson rejected the application.<\/p>\n<p><span>&#8216;Very serious accusations&#8217;<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t comment on judicial matters,&#8221; said Ms Fekter. &#8220;But in view of the situation, that bail has been refused, he himself must deliberate on whether he is hurting the institution.&#8221;<\/p>\n<div readability=\"28.0291970803\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/world-us-canada-13426069#story_continues_2\">Continue reading the main story<\/a><\/p>\n<h2>Charges against Dominique Strauss-Kahn<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Criminal sexual act in the first degree, two counts (maximum sentence 25 years)<\/li>\n<li>Attempted rape in the first degree, one count (up to 15 years)<\/li>\n<li>Sexual abuse in the first degree, one count (up to seven years)<\/li>\n<li>Unlawful imprisonment in the second degree, one count (up to one year)<\/li>\n<li>Forcible touching, one count (up to one year)<\/li>\n<li>Sexual abuse in the third degree, one count (up to three months)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Source: New York County District Attorney&#8217;s Office<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>The Spanish finance minister added her voice, saying that the IMF head faced &#8220;very serious accusations&#8221; but that any resignation &#8220;is only a decision that Mr Strauss-Kahn can take&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>However, she went on to express sympathy for the alleged victim of the assault: &#8220;If I had to show my solidarity and support for someone, it would be towards the woman who has been assaulted, if that is really the case that she has been.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Ms Fekter&#8217;s comments touched on concerns that, irrespective of the legal outcome, Mr Strauss-Kahn&#8217;s detention creates a practical obstacle for his role in negotiating rescue loans for Portugal and Greece.<\/p>\n<p>Mr Strauss-Kahn had been due to attend an EU finance ministers&#8217; meeting in Brussels to discuss financial bail-outs.<\/p>\n<p>The IMF has played a central role in organising rescue packages for the troubled economies of Portugal and Greece.<\/p>\n<p>However, according to the Portuguese finance minister, Fernando Teixeira dos Santos, the IMF head&#8217;s absence had not been an issue.<\/p>\n<p>Mr Strauss-Kahn received support from the Luxembourg prime minister and eurogroup head, Jean-Claude Juncker, a self-professed close friend.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m very sad and upset,&#8221; he said. &#8220;I didn&#8217;t like the pictures I&#8217;ve seen on television.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde described Mr Strauss-Kahn&#8217;s predicament as &#8220;crushing and painful&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p><span>Flight halted<\/span><\/p>\n<p>The IMF said in a statement that it had been briefed on the charges against its managing director, and that it would &#8220;continue to monitor developments&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>The charges relate to an alleged assault at the Times Square Sofitel hotel in New York.<\/p>\n<p>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<p>The woman was able to break free and alert the authorities, a NYPD spokesman added.<\/p>\n<p>Later on Saturday, Mr Strauss-Kahn was detained on board an Air France flight at New York&#8217;s John F Kennedy airport minutes before take-off.<\/p>\n<p>The IMF chief underwent medical examinations on Sunday. Police were looking for scratches or any other evidence of his alleged assault.<\/p>\n<p>He was later charged with a &#8220;criminal sexual act, unlawful imprisonment and attempted rape&#8221;. Police say the maid formally identified him in a line-up.<\/p>\n<p><span>&#8216;Thunderbolt&#8217;<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Until he was arrested, Mr Strauss-Kahn was considered a favourite to become the Socialist candidate for the French presidency next year.<\/p>\n<p>Opinion polls gave him a good chance of defeating President Nicolas Sarkozy.<\/p>\n<p>Socialist party president Martine Aubry described his arrest as a &#8220;thunderbolt&#8221; but called for Mr Strauss-Kahn to be presumed innocent.<\/p>\n<p>Mr Strauss-Kahn&#8217;s wife, French TV personality Anne Sinclair, has also protested his innocence.<\/p>\n<p>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<p>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<p>&#8220;We&#8217;re planning to make a complaint,&#8221; Ms Banon&#8217;s lawyer told AFP news agency. Mr Strauss-Kahn&#8217;s lawyers have so far not responded to the allegation.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>See the rest here:<br \/>\n<a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/go\/rss\/int\/news\/-\/news\/world-us-canada-13426069\" title=\"Pressure on IMF chief to resign\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Pressure on IMF chief to resign<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p> 17 May 2011 Last updated at 07:36 ET Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play. Strauss-Kahn was refused bail on charges of trying to rape a maid Pressure is mounting on Dominique Strauss-Kahn to step down as head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-425481","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-local-news"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Pressure on IMF chief to resign - Ghanamma.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/05\/17\/pressure-on-imf-chief-to-resign\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Pressure on IMF chief to resign - Ghanamma.com\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"17 May 2011 Last updated at 07:36 ET Please turn on JavaScript. 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Strauss-Kahn was refused bail on charges of trying to rape a maid Pressure is mounting on Dominique Strauss-Kahn to step down as head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"http:\/\/news.bbcimg.co.uk\/media\/images\/52784000\/jpg\/_52784949_jex_1047310_de27-1.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@ghanamma\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@ghanamma\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/05\/17\/pressure-on-imf-chief-to-resign\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/05\/17\/pressure-on-imf-chief-to-resign\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"\",\"@id\":\"\"},\"headline\":\"Pressure on IMF chief to resign\",\"datePublished\":\"2011-05-17T11:36:47+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/05\/17\/pressure-on-imf-chief-to-resign\/\"},\"wordCount\":834,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/05\/17\/pressure-on-imf-chief-to-resign\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\/\/news.bbcimg.co.uk\/media\/images\/52784000\/jpg\/_52784949_jex_1047310_de27-1.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Local News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/05\/17\/pressure-on-imf-chief-to-resign\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/05\/17\/pressure-on-imf-chief-to-resign\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/05\/17\/pressure-on-imf-chief-to-resign\/\",\"name\":\"Pressure on IMF chief to resign - Ghanamma.com\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/05\/17\/pressure-on-imf-chief-to-resign\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/05\/17\/pressure-on-imf-chief-to-resign\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\/\/news.bbcimg.co.uk\/media\/images\/52784000\/jpg\/_52784949_jex_1047310_de27-1.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2011-05-17T11:36:47+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/05\/17\/pressure-on-imf-chief-to-resign\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/05\/17\/pressure-on-imf-chief-to-resign\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/news.bbcimg.co.uk\/media\/images\/52784000\/jpg\/_52784949_jex_1047310_de27-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\/\/news.bbcimg.co.uk\/media\/images\/52784000\/jpg\/_52784949_jex_1047310_de27-1.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/\",\"name\":\"Ghanamma.com\",\"description\":\"News In Ghana - Latest Ghana News Headlines\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Pressure on IMF chief to resign - Ghanamma.com","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/05\/17\/pressure-on-imf-chief-to-resign\/","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_title":"Pressure on IMF chief to resign - Ghanamma.com","twitter_description":"17 May 2011 Last updated at 07:36 ET Please turn on JavaScript. 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