Pressure grows for IMF chief to stand down
Source: Agencies |
May 18, 2011, Wednesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
Pressure was building yesterday for Dominique Strauss-Kahn to consider resigning as chief of the International Monetary Fund after he was charged with trying to rape a maid in a New York hotel.
Strauss-Kahn spent the night at the infamous Rikers Island penal complex, after being denied bail on Monday. Prosecutors had warned the wealthy banker might flee to France and put himself beyond the reach of United States law like the filmmaker Roman Polanski.
The film director has long been sought by California authorities for sentencing in a 1977 child sex case.
Strauss-Kahn's weekend arrest rocked the financial world and upended French presidential politics. A member of France's Socialist party, he was widely considered the strongest potential challenger next year to President Nicolas Sarkozy.
Austria's finance minister suggested yesterday that Strauss-Kahn consider stepping down to avoid damaging the IMF, which provides emergency loans to countries in severe distress and tries to maintain global financial stability.
"Considering the situation, that bail was denied, he has to figure out for himself that he is hurting the institution," Maria Fekter said as she arrived at a meeting of European finance ministers in Brussels.
Elena Salgado, Fekter's Spanish counterpart, said Strauss-Kahn had to decide for himself whether he wanted to step down, considering the "extraordinarily serious" nature of the charges.
"If I had to show my solidarity and support for someone it would be toward the woman who has been assaulted, if that is really the case that she has been," she said.
The 62-year-old Strauss-Kahn was arrested on Saturday at John F. Kennedy Airport after the allegations at the Sofitel hotel near Times Square.
Making his first court appearance on Monday, a grim-looking Strauss-Kahn stood slumped before a judge in a dark raincoat and open-collared shirt. The silver-haired banker said nothing as a lawyer strove in vain to get him released on bail.
"This battle has just begun," defense attorney Benjamin Brafman told scores of reporters outside the courthouse, adding that Strauss-Kahn might appeal the bail denial.
Because of his high profile, the IMF chief will be held in protective custody on Rikers Island, away from most detainees, said a city Correction Department spokesman.
Unlike most prisoners, who share 50-bed barracks, he will have a single-bed cell and will eat all of his meals there alone. He'll have a prison guard escort whenever he is outside his cell.
Rikers, on an island in the East River between the Bronx and Queens, is one of America's largest jail complexes, with a daily inmate population of about 14,000.
Strauss-Kahn was ordered jailed at least until a court hearing on Friday.
He cannot claim diplomatic immunity because he was in New York on personal business and was paying his own way, the IMF said.
The French newspaper Le Monde, citing people close to Strauss-Kahn, said he had reserved the suite at the Sofitel hotel for one night for a quick trip to have lunch with his daughter, who is studying in New York.
Strauss-Kahn is accused of attacking a maid who had gone in to clean his penthouse suite on Saturday afternoon. He is charged with attempted rape, sex abuse, a criminal sex act, unlawful imprisonment and forcible touching. The most serious charge carries five to 25 years in prison.
The 32-year-old maid told authorities she thought the suite was empty but that Strauss-Kahn emerged from the bathroom naked, chased her down a hallway, pulled her into a bedroom and dragged her into a bathroom, police said.
"The victim provided a very powerful and detailed account of the violent sexual assault," Assistant District Attorney John McConnell said. He added that forensic evidence may support her account. Strauss-Kahn voluntarily submitted to a forensic examination on Sunday night.
Brafman said defense lawyers believe the forensic evidence "will not be consistent with a forcible encounter."
Strauss-Kahn spent the night at the infamous Rikers Island penal complex, after being denied bail on Monday. Prosecutors had warned the wealthy banker might flee to France and put himself beyond the reach of United States law like the filmmaker Roman Polanski.
The film director has long been sought by California authorities for sentencing in a 1977 child sex case.
Strauss-Kahn's weekend arrest rocked the financial world and upended French presidential politics. A member of France's Socialist party, he was widely considered the strongest potential challenger next year to President Nicolas Sarkozy.
Austria's finance minister suggested yesterday that Strauss-Kahn consider stepping down to avoid damaging the IMF, which provides emergency loans to countries in severe distress and tries to maintain global financial stability.
"Considering the situation, that bail was denied, he has to figure out for himself that he is hurting the institution," Maria Fekter said as she arrived at a meeting of European finance ministers in Brussels.
Elena Salgado, Fekter's Spanish counterpart, said Strauss-Kahn had to decide for himself whether he wanted to step down, considering the "extraordinarily serious" nature of the charges.
"If I had to show my solidarity and support for someone it would be toward the woman who has been assaulted, if that is really the case that she has been," she said.
The 62-year-old Strauss-Kahn was arrested on Saturday at John F. Kennedy Airport after the allegations at the Sofitel hotel near Times Square.
Making his first court appearance on Monday, a grim-looking Strauss-Kahn stood slumped before a judge in a dark raincoat and open-collared shirt. The silver-haired banker said nothing as a lawyer strove in vain to get him released on bail.
"This battle has just begun," defense attorney Benjamin Brafman told scores of reporters outside the courthouse, adding that Strauss-Kahn might appeal the bail denial.
Because of his high profile, the IMF chief will be held in protective custody on Rikers Island, away from most detainees, said a city Correction Department spokesman.
Unlike most prisoners, who share 50-bed barracks, he will have a single-bed cell and will eat all of his meals there alone. He'll have a prison guard escort whenever he is outside his cell.
Rikers, on an island in the East River between the Bronx and Queens, is one of America's largest jail complexes, with a daily inmate population of about 14,000.
Strauss-Kahn was ordered jailed at least until a court hearing on Friday.
He cannot claim diplomatic immunity because he was in New York on personal business and was paying his own way, the IMF said.
The French newspaper Le Monde, citing people close to Strauss-Kahn, said he had reserved the suite at the Sofitel hotel for one night for a quick trip to have lunch with his daughter, who is studying in New York.
Strauss-Kahn is accused of attacking a maid who had gone in to clean his penthouse suite on Saturday afternoon. He is charged with attempted rape, sex abuse, a criminal sex act, unlawful imprisonment and forcible touching. The most serious charge carries five to 25 years in prison.
The 32-year-old maid told authorities she thought the suite was empty but that Strauss-Kahn emerged from the bathroom naked, chased her down a hallway, pulled her into a bedroom and dragged her into a bathroom, police said.
"The victim provided a very powerful and detailed account of the violent sexual assault," Assistant District Attorney John McConnell said. He added that forensic evidence may support her account. Strauss-Kahn voluntarily submitted to a forensic examination on Sunday night.
Brafman said defense lawyers believe the forensic evidence "will not be consistent with a forcible encounter."
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