NEWS INTERNATIONAL

 Rape Case:
Guineans fuming over press treatment ff attempted rape victim

By Fungai Maboreke/GIN

When former Socialist candidate for the presidency, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, was released from house arrest last week when new evidence challenged the charges against him for the attempted rape of an African hotel maid at a luxury hotel in NYC, the move enraged many of her fellow countrymen.

Strauss-Kahn (known as “DSK”) was released on allegations that the victim – a young Muslim woman from Guinea - might have lied to the Grand Jury and misrepresented certain facts.

Until Friday, Strauss Kahn was held in detention since his arrest May 15th while seated in a plane bound for his home country France.

Mamoudou Diallo, eldest brother to the Guinean hotel maid, disputed the accusations against his sister that included headlines in the New York Post calling her a prostitute. "They're nothing but lies, all to discredit my sister,“ he said bitterly.  A lawsuit has been filed against the Post, alleging slander.

The alleged victim of sexual assault comes from the village of Thiacoule, 280 miles from the capital Conakry. It is a staunch Muslim community which survives on communal farming and cattle. She was described as a hard worker.

Thierno Maadjo Sow, president of the Guinean Organization for Human Rights asserted that,  "In this case it's all about the strong against the weak."

"Even if they find something compromising about this young lady, that doesn't  prove that nothing happened and that Strauss-Kahn didn't try to do something he shouldn't have," added Souleymane Bah, a communications expert.

“What matters most in this case is this: is DSK guilty yes or no? Did he try to rape this young woman yes or no? It's this question we need to find an answer to," Bah said. Strauss-Kahn still faces charges that he sexually assaulted the young woman.

Meanwhile, in France, a thirty-two-year old French author, Tristane Banon, has filed new charges against DSK.  Her mother is a prominent member of the French Socialist party. Banon claims Strauss-Kahn tried to rape her when she interviewed him in 2002.

w/pix of NY Post headline and alleged victim