Disgraced former IMF head
Dominique Strauss-Kahn goes on trial in France as he is being accused of
aggravated pimping as part of a prostitution ring.
If convicted, the one-time
presidential contender, known as DSK in France, faces up to 10 years in prison
and a €1.5m (£1.1m) fine.
Strauss-Kahn and more than a
dozen other French and Belgian businessmen will be tried in the northern city
of Lille.
Luxury hotel managers, police,
freemasons and a brothel owner nicknamed "Dodo the Pimp" are also
standing trial.
"Specifically the charges
against Mr Strauss-Kahn can be translated best as aggravated pimping, so
participating in a structured prostitution ring involving a number of women
operating both in France and in Belgium," said lawyer Christopher Mesnooh.
Prostitutes questioned in the
case said they had sex with Strauss-Kahn during 2010 and 2011 at a luxury hotel
and a restaurant in Paris and also in Washington, where he lived while working
for the International Monetary Fund, and in Brussels.
His lawyers said he had
attended "libertine" gatherings, but denied knowing the women were
paid.
In France, it is not against
the law to pay for sex, but is illegal to solicit or run a prostitution
business.
During the high-profile
three-week trial, lurid details of group sex and high-end prostitution are
expected to emerge.
Prosecutors have been divided
over whether there was enough evidence for Strauss-Kahn to stand trial.
Strauss-Kahn's financial and
political career ended four years ago amid accusations he sexually assaulted
hotel maid Nafissatou Diallo in New York.
Diallo told police he forced
her to perform oral sex, tried to rape her and tore a ligament in her shoulder
after she arrived to clean his luxury hotel suite.
Strauss-Kahn, who was forced
to resign as head of the IMF due to the scandal, said the sex was consensual
but described it as "a moral failing."
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