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DSK moves to drop civil case

March 29, 2012

Ex-IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn has sought to throw out a civil case brought against him by a New York hotel maid over an alleged sexual assault. His lawyers have argued that he was covered by diplomatic immunity.

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Former International Monetary Fund leader Dominique Strauss-Kahn
Image: dapd

Lawyers representing one-time French presidential hopeful Dominique Strauss-Kahn moved to dismiss a civil case against him on Wednesday on the grounds that he was covered by diplomatic immunity at the time of the alleged rape of a New York hotel maid.

Defense lawyer Amit Mehta argued that the former International Monetary Fund chief enjoyed the same diplomatic immunity granted to foreign diplomats and heads of international organizations.

"Dismissal may be unfair to some, but it is the result the law compels," Mehta told Judge Douglas McKeon in the Bronx State Supreme Court.

The judge did not immediately rule on the application for dismissal, but promised "to expeditiously issue a decision."

Nafissatou Diallo, whose sexual assault allegations triggered Strauss-Kahn's resignation as IMF chief last year, is seeking unspecified damages after failing to secure a conviction in a criminal court.

Addressing the court on Wednesday her lawyer, Douglas Wigdor, rejected the move to dismiss the case, saying Strauss-Kahn "brutally sexually assaulted Ms Diallo" on May 14, 2011, and now wished to use the immunity argument to "deny Ms Diallo's right to a trial in this case and delay these proceedings."

Criminal charges dropped

Strauss-Kahn, 62, had previously been charged with the attempted rape of the maid at his suite in a Manhattan hotel, but the charges were later dropped after prosecutors lost faith in her credibility.

As IMF chief, Strauss-Kahn is believed to have had some level of immunity. He was, however, visiting New York on personal business at the time of the alleged crime, raising questions over whether the diplomatic immunity only extended to him in his official duties.

Strauss-Kahn, who is facing separate charges over his involvement in an international prostitution network, was standing trial in Lille, France, and was therefore unable to attend the hearing. He has maintained his innocence throughout the civil proceedings but has admitted to having had consensual sex with the claimant.

ccp/ncy (dpa, AFP, AP)