PARIS - the Paris Prosecutor, said Friday it has opened a preliminary investigation into the charges by a French writer who former IMF Chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn tried to rape her.
The probe comes just as New York prosecutors are weighing to go forward with a case in which a woman in room charged with Strauss-Kahn or non - long considered a top competitor for the Presidency of the France - of sexual assault. Questions have emerged about the credibility of the servant, throwing the case of prestige in the confusion.
Back in France, writer and journalist Tristane Banon filed a criminal complaint this week saying that Strauss-Kahn attacked in an apartment empty in 2003 in an interview for a book project, struggling with her on the floor, while he was trying to tear off his clothes.
An official at the Paris Prosecutor's Office, said Friday that a preliminary investigation was initiated on the complaint. The official was not authorized to be named publicly because the investigation is ongoing.
The probe allows researchers to a brigade of special police to question Banon and loved ones of him on the incident for eight years.
Also, it could allow researchers in the question Strauss-Kahn, but probably not less than and up to what it returns France. New York authorities have kept his passport pending a decision on what happens in the case of the it.
Strauss-Kahn smoking at the head of the Monetary Fund International, after he was arrested in New York in May to charges of assault by a servant of the hotel. Strauss-Kahn denies wrongdoing, and last week, he was released without bail after prosecutors said publicly that the lady has a history of lying.
Questions have also surfaced on the viability of the French charge against Strauss-Kahn.
Banon is no official report of victims after the alleged attack and Banon lawyer describes any physical evidence that could be brought against Strauss-Kahn.
Banon has recognized the difficulty of proving her case, saying that it has taken steps to deal with the trauma of the alleged incident and refute those who say that she lied.
She stated in an interview with L'Express magazine that Strauss-Kahn grabbed his arm and hand until the two fell to the floor of his apartment and fought for several minutes, with the politician tries to open his jeans and bra and put his fingers in his mouth and undergarments.
Counsel for Strauss-Kahn called the "imaginary" incident and threatened to file a criminal complaint accusing Banon of defamation.
After the preliminary probe in his application, which can take weeks or months, the Paris Prosecutor's Office could decide to drop the case or to continue the investigation, which could lead to a trial.
The probe will help prosecutors determine if his allegations support a charge of attempted rape, rather than the less serious crime of sexual assault. Under French law, sexual assault is an attack that does not involve an attempt to penetrate the victim. It has a three-year limitation period - meaning the 2003 incident would be old to sue - compared to 10 for attempted rape.
___
Angela Charlton contributed to this report.
No comments:
Post a Comment