FRANCE: The near-collapse of the prosecution case against Dominique Strauss-Kahn in the U.S. will not affect moves by woman who alleges assault in France, her lawyer says

Record ID: 561869

  • Title: FRANCE: The near-collapse of the prosecution case against Dominique Strauss-Kahn in the U.S. will not affect moves by woman who alleges assault in France, her lawyer says
  • Date: 2nd July 2011
  • Summary: NEWSPAPERS IN KOUBBI'S OFFICE
  • Embargoed: 17th July 2011 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: France, France
  • Country: France
  • Reuters ID: LVA6BYXTW9K4HLS59PJH8760NKCK
  • Story Text: The near-collapse of the prosecution case against Dominique Strauss-Kahn will not affect moves in France by a writer who alleges the former IMF boss assaulted her in France when he was a leading Socialist politician, her lawyer said on Friday (July 1).
    David Koubbi told Reuters in an interview that his client, Tristane Banon, was a totally separate case to that of the New York hotel chambermaid who alleges sexual assault and attempted rape against Strauss-Kahn, whose stringent bail conditions were lifted on Friday after doubts emerged over the strength of the plaintiffs' case.
    "Nothing that takes place in the United States and which concerns Ms Nafissatou Diallo and Mr Dominique Strauss-Kahn will interfere with the matter that I am dealing with in France. Credit us with the fact that since the start of the matter, I have said that these are two judicial systems which are different," Koubbi said.
    In the past, lawyers acting for chambermaid Nafissatou Diallo have called for women to come forward to testify about Strauss-Kahn.
    Banon, who has alleged she was assaulted while interviewing Strauss Kahn for a book in 2002, has not answered the call.
    "If Miss Tristane Banon has something to say in a judicial manner to Mr Dominique Strauss-Kahn it will be done on French soil and in application of the principles of French justice," Koubbi said.
    He said developments in the U.S. would not impact any legal moves that might be brought against Strauss-Kahn in France.
    "This doesn't change anything to the scope of the matter, or the scope of the determination of my client. It will try again to be as clear as possible. Nothing of what will happen in the United States will have as a consequence to raise or reduce what is in my client's file. I have indicated from the start that I did not these two matters to be linked in any way at all. I don't want my client's word be linked to that of Ms Nafissatou Diallo for one clear reason: that's because I doesn't know what's in the American case," he said.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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