Dominique Strauss-Kahn accuser gives first interview
Nafissatou Diallo told Newsweek that she has told the truth about the incident on 14 MayThe New York hotel maid who accuses former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn of attempting to rape her in a hotel suite has given her first interview.
Nafissatou Diallo told Newsweek magazine that she has told the truth about the incident on 14 May.
The move comes as authorities consider whether to drop charges against him amid doubts over her credibility.
The French politician, 62, who resigned as head of the IMF to defend himself, vigorously denies all the charges.
He has said that what happened between he and Ms Diallo was consensual, and his lawyers have described the maid's interview as "unseemly".
Media campaign?Ms Diallo told Newsweek magazine: "I want him to go to jail. I want him to know there are some places you cannot use your power, you cannot use your money."
The 32-year-old immigrant from Guinea told the magazine that she was scared about losing her job when she eventually ran from the room where the incident allegedly took place.
But Mr Strauss-Kahn's representatives accused her of conducting a "media campaign" to persuade prosecutors to pursue charges against the former IMF chief, Reuters news agency reported.
He is charged with seven counts including four more serious felony charges - two of criminal sexual acts, one of attempted rape and one of sexual abuse - plus three misdemeanour offences, including unlawful imprisonment.
But some US media reports say the case is close to collapse. Court prosecutors have said that the maid gave false testimony to a grand jury, citing inconsistencies in her account of the sequence of events on the day.
Mr Strauss-Kahn was released from house arrest on 1 July and had his $6m (£3.7m) cash bail and bond returned.
Meanwhile, French authorities are investigating allegations that Mr Strauss-Kahn attempted to rape French writer Tristane Banon a decade earlier.
Mr Strauss-Kahn denies any wrongdoing, and has launched a counter-claim, suing Ms Banon for making false statements.
Ms Diallo has also granted an interview to the ABC news network, excerpts of which are due to be broadcast on Monday.
Until she came forward for interview, her name had not been reported by media outlets which normally protect the identities of people who say they have been sexually assaulted.
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Having her say ... Nafissatou Diallo, left, the alleged victim in the Dominique Strauss-Kahn assault case, talks to Robin Roberts of ABC News. Photo: AP / ABC News
The New York hotel maid at the centre of rape allegations against ex-IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn has spoken out for the first time, saying she is "telling the truth" and wants justice.
Nafissatou Diallo, the 32-year-old Guinean woman who accused Mr Strauss-Kahn of trying to rape her in a Manhattan hotel suite in May, told US media she wanted him jailed.
"I want justice. I want him to go to jail," she told US network ABC in an interview set to air today.
Dominique Strauss-Kahn ... denies the allegations. Photo: AP
"I want him to know that there is some places you cannot use your money, you cannot use your power when you do something like this.
"I never want to be in public but I have no choice. Now, I have to be in public. I have to, for myself. I have to tell the truth."
She also told Newsweek magazine: "Because of him, they call me a prostitute."
Ms Diallo's interviews have been seen as an attempt to clear her name after New York prosecutors openly questioned her credibility, and said she changed her story and lied on her asylum application.
There were also media reports linking her to criminal activities. Police sources had said she was recorded on a phone discussing the financial benefits of pursuing charges, with a boyfriend jailed for possessing marijuana.
She told Newsweek magazine she did not have any boyfriends, just friends who took advantage of her, and she mistakenly trusted one enough to give him access to her bank accounts.
She also told the ABC she had "mistakes", but insisted her account of what happened inside the hotel room had remained the same, even if what she said happened afterwards was less clear.
'Hello? Housekeeping'
During the ABC interview, Ms Diallo re-enacted what happened in Room 2806 at the Sofitel Hotel when 62-year-old Mr Strauss-Kahn allegedly attacked her.
In the Newsweek interview, she detailed what happened as she entered the presidential suite - which she thought was empty - and called out: "Hello? Housekeeping?"
As she faced the bedroom, she said she saw a naked man with white hair appear.
She turned to leave, exclaiming: "Oh, my God. I'm so sorry."
But Mr Strauss-Kahn allegedly replied, "You don't have to be sorry", clutched her breasts and closed the door of his suite.
Ms Diallo said Mr Strauss-Kahn allegedly wrestled her to the living room and tried to put his penis in her mouth as she kept pushing him away.
Mr Strauss-Kahn allegedly pushed her back and moved her towards the bathroom.
Ms Diallo told Newsweek the Frenchman then pulled up her uniform around her thighs, pulled down her pantyhose and gripped her crotch hard.
She said Mr Strauss-Kahn allegedly pushed her down on her knees with her back against a wall and forced her to have oral sex.
She said the whole incident took less than 15 minutes.
Ms Diallo said as she hid in the corridor and tried to compose herself, she saw Mr Strauss-Kahn come out of his room dressed and with his luggage. He nodded at her and then stared straight ahead, saying nothing.
Attempt to 'inflame public opinion'
Mr Strauss-Kahn's lawyers have lashed out at Ms Diallo's media interviews, saying that "its obvious purpose is to inflame public opinion against a defendant in a pending criminal case".
The lawyers, William Taylor and Benjamin Brafmanm, said in a statement that Ms Diallo was "the first accuser in history to conduct a media campaign to persuade a prosecutor to pursue charges against a person from whom she wants money".
"This conduct by [Ms Diallo's] lawyers is unprofessional and it violates fundamental rules of professional conduct for lawyers.
"Her lawyers know that her claim for money suffers a fatal blow when the criminal charges are dismissed, as they must be."
Mr Strauss-Kahn is due back in court on August 1.
His lawyers have called for the case to be dismissed after prosecution concerns about Ms Diallo's credibility.
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