Dominique Strauss-Kahn, head of the International Monetary Fund, is lead from a police station Sunday, May 15, 2011 in New York where he was being held. Strauss-Kahn, a possible candidate for president of France, was pulled from an airplane moments before it was to depart for Paris on Saturday, and arrested in the alleged sexual assault of a New York hotel maid, police said. Photo: Craig Ruttle / AP
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IMF Boss Strauss-Kahn On Suicide Watch
1:14am UK, Wednesday May 18, 2011
Sky NEWS
International Monetary Fund (IMF) boss Dominique Strauss-Kahn is under suicide watch in prison, according to an official.
The 62-year-old is being held at New York's Rikers jail, although he is not believed to have attempted to harm himself.
A source has said the IMF board believe it would be "ideal" if Mr Strauss-Kahn resigned.
It was also claimed that they were trying to contact the managing director to hear his views on plans regarding his post.
Two board members have spoken about the issues, although one said that the opinion he should resign was not shared universally across the 24-member board.
Dominique Strauss-Kahn at Manhattan Criminal Court
The claims were denied by an IMF spokesman, who said they had not been in touch with Mr Strauss-Kahn.
"Obviously, it will be important to be in contact with him in due course," he said.
"We are aware of widespread speculation about the Managing Director's status.
"We have no comment on this speculation, other than to note, as we did earlier this week, that the Executive Board was briefed informally on developments regarding his arrest in New York.
"We continue to monitor developments."
Mr Strauss Strauss-Kahn was denied bail on Tuesday over fears he might flee back to France.
The 62-year-old has been accused of sexual assaulting a hotel maid at the Sofitel on Saturday when she arrived to clean his room.
He allegedly emerged from his bathroom naked, dragged the maid from the corridor and then attacked her.
The economist was located by police after he rang the hotel to say he had left behind his mobile phone and told staff he was at JFK Airport.
Mr Strauss-Kahn in court as the prosecutors outline the allegations
He was removed from a flight by two officers minutes before it was due to take off and returned to the city.
His legal team insist he is innocent of the charges which include attempted rape, sexual abuse and unlawful imprisonment.
They proposed a $1m bail and said he could wear an electronic tag.
But Judge Melissa Jackson, at Manhattan Criminal Court, denied bail - claiming there was a risk he might flee back to France.
She said: "When I hear your client was at JFK airport about to board a flight, that raises some concerns."
The 32-year-old hotel maid, an African immigrant, claims Mr Strauss-Kahn dragged her from the hall into a bathroom, where she was made to perform oral sex on him.
Mr Strauss-Kahn's lawyers William Taylor and Benjamin Brafman outside court
She says she managed to free herself when the IMF chief started to remove her underwear and she then ran downstairs to raise the alarm.
Assistant district attorney John McConnell told the court: "The defendant restrained a hotel employee against her will.
"He sexually assaulted her and tried to rape her. When he was unsuccessful, he forced her to perform oral sex on him."
Mr McConnell said the alleged victim, who picked the IMF boss out of a police line-up, had given a "powerful account".
He added: "The crime scene unit has processed the hotel room. Preliminary evidence suggests there are findings that will support the victim’s version of events."
Prosecutors insisted that Mr Strauss-Kahn's "massive network of contracts" across the world and his wealth meant he was an "incurable flight risk".
Mr McConnell also told the court he had seen video of the defendant leaving the hotel and that "he appeared to be a man in a hurry”.
The IMF boss's lawyer, Benjamin Brafman, insisted his client had ties to the US and his flight back to Europe was organised far in advance.
Mr Brafman described the charges as "defendable" and claimed the forensic evidence taken by police "will not be consistent with a forcible encounter".
The Rikers Island prison complex where Dominique Strauss-Kahn is being held
Outside court, the lawyer added: "We believe we will prove that Mr Strauss is innocent of these charges.
"I think it's important that you all understand that this battle has just begun."
The lawyer successfully defended pop star Michael Jackson from child molestation charges in 2005.
Mr Strauss-Kahn looked tense and haggard during the court appearance. He faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted.
He is being held on remand in Rikers jail and is due back in court on May 20 when his lawyers are expected to try to overturn the bail decision.
The IMF has still not decided whether to remove the economist from his job but has installed his deputy John Lipsky in his place temporarily.
A spokesman said after a meeting on Monday: "The IMF and its executive board will continue to monitor developments."
Meanwhile in France, the Socialist Party has been left in disarray because Mr Strauss-Kahn was expected to win its nomination for next year’s presidential election.
The party’s leaders met on Tuesday for crisis talks and tried to map out a new plan for the contest.
Nicolas Sarkozy has still not made any public comment about the man who could have been his biggest rival for the presidency.
Aides made known on Tuesday that he had told supporters to maintain a "dignified" and "lofty" approach.
He was quoted as saying: "What matters to people are the difficulties of their daily lives. We must lead the country. We are the rocks they depend on."
In a further blow, a French author is now considering pressing charges against Mr Strauss-Kahn for allegedly trying to rape her nine years ago.
Tristane Banon, the daughter of a French socialist, consulted a lawyer in Paris about action against the economist who she describes as being like a "rutting chimpanzee".
She claims she physically had to fight off Mr Strauss-Kahn when he tried to seduce her in 2002, when she was 22.
Her mother Anne Mansouret said she talked her daughter out of taking action because he was such an influential figure.
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