Head of IMF arrested and accused of sexual assault

[Jan Klimkowski]

The American incident increasingly looks like a sting, and quite possibly a geopolitical sting.

The article below states that Strauss-Kahn will face fresh sex assault charges on his return to France.

This could be another geopoltical sting.

Or

It could be a genuine case brought by an outraged victim.

And

It may reveal that Strauss-Kahn's enemies knew his weaknesses, and how to exploit them in New York.

Strauss-Kahn faces new test as French writer moves to file sex assault lawsuit

Lawyer for Tristane Banon says writer will formally accuse ex-IMF chief of attempted rape at 2002 interview

Associated Press in Paris guardian.co.uk, Monday 4 July 2011 15.47 BST

The lawyer for a French journalist and writer claims she will file a lawsuit accusing former International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn of attempted rape.

Lawyer David Koubbi told the Associated Press that Tristane Banon will file the suit on Tuesday in Paris.

Banon has described an encounter in 2002 in which Strauss-Kahn allegedly sexually assaulted her.

Strauss-Kahn was arrested in New York in May on charges that he tried to rape a hotel maid. Strauss-Kahn, who vigorously denied wrongdoing, was released without bail last week after questions emerged about the maid's credibility.

Koubbi had said in the past that they would not file a lawsuit until the US trial was finished. He said on Monday that they had decided to move forward now instead of waiting.

Banon came forward after Strauss-Kahn's arrest on 14 May in New York. She accused him of wrenching open her bra and trying to unbutton her jeans in 2002. Lawyer David Koubbi said Banon had been dissuaded at the time from filing charges by her mother, a regional councillor in Strauss-Kahn's Socialist party.

Before Koubbi's announcement, the country was divided on whether it wanted Strauss-Kahn back in public life: two polls showed an almost even division between those who thought he should return, and those who believed his political career was over.

A poll released on Monday found that 51% of French people found that Strauss-Kahn no longer had a political future, versus 42% who thought he did.

Another poll published on Sunday conducted by Harris Interactive for Le Parisien showed 49% wanted Strauss-Kahn to return to French politics.