GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – A turnaround hailed in media in the US and France as “dramatic” has seen former IMF head Dominique Levi-Strauss freed from house arrest on his own recognizance, as the credibility drops of the woman who says she was sexually assaulted by him. The judge, without making a public statement, has released Strauss-Kahn and agreed to return the $6 million in bail he posted, but the prosecution says it is not dropping the case.
Strauss-Kahn’s passport remains in the hands of US justice officials.
Links to other sites: CNN, Le Monde (Fr), Washington Post
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Dominique Strauss-Kahn will be freed on $1 million bail Friday 20 May, but assigned with a permanent guard to his home after being formally indicted on sexual aggression charges by a Grand Jury in New York, in the US. Fox News points out that he will also have to take out a $5 million insurance bond, noting that “it’s not believed the wealthy banker will have any problem meeting the financial conditions of his release.”
An arraignment hearing has been set for 6 June, where the former IMF boss will formally answer charges.
Links to other sites: Figaro, Fox News, Le Monde, NY Times, NY Post
Julian Assange could soon be free from Wandsworth Prison on £240,000 bail, once the cash is collected, in a London Westminster Magistrates Court bail hearing marked by more than just the news about the his freedom. The judge agreed to let journalists covering the case tweet the news directly from the courtroom. Assange’s temporary near-freedom was almost secondary news in the face of astonished reporters’ coverage of their own “freedom”. Metro, a UK online paper, notes that “Direct, live reporting from within court is not normally allowed in British courtrooms. Making sound recordings, taking pictures or even making sketches are all explicitly against the law (court sketch artists have to work from memory), and those present are often ordered to turn any mobile devices off before proceedings start.”
Links to other sites: Atlantic on how many tweets Assange gets you, BBC
Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Sarah Shourd, 32, one of three hikers who were arrested by Iran in July 2009 for spying after they crossed into Iran from Iraq at an unmarked border, has been seen leaving prison, and it’s been confirmed on a web site run by the hikers’ family, that she was headed for the Swiss embassy in Teheran. Shourd was earlier today reported by Iranian public media to have been released. The US State Department told CNN that it could not confirm the information. The Swiss government, which represents American interests in Iran, has maintained its information blackout on the case.
Shourd has a medical condition that was there before her arrest but she has developed a lump in her breast according to her lawyer, and a judge in Teheran told Iranian television that she is being released for medical reasons.
Switzerland reportedly deposited $500,000 in bail for Shourd, according to the Iranian judge handling the case.
Her fiance, Shane Bauer, 28, and Josh Fattal, 28, remain in prison. Iran officials say they have indicted the hikers since investigations were completed recently. US officials say they believe the trio is innocent.
Mark Toner, acting US deputy spokesperson for the State Department, said at a 9 September briefing, when asked about the hikers, “our reaction is that we don’t know, frankly, what Iran is contemplating at this point. We have reached out through the Swiss protecting powers to try to find out more about this. Obviously, if this is—if this turns out to be true, this is terrific news. The hikers’ release is long overdue. And I would just stress that we hope that it’s all three hikers.”
Links to other sites: CNN, hikers’ families site and freethehikers on Facebook
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© Chappatte, distributed by Globe Cartoon. More cartoons on Chappatte’s web site. Geneva-based Patrick Chappatte works for the International Herald Tribune, for Geneva newspaper Le Temps, and for NZZ am Sonntag. All cartoons reproduced with permission.
Zurich, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Film director Roman Polanski could be released on bail for CHF4.5 million, the Swiss Federal Criminal high court ruled Wednesday 25 November, noting that the amount of money put up plus other security measures are adequate to cover the risk he will flee. The court has asked for his identity papers and he has been told to remain home with electronic surveillance while the US request for extradition is examined, a process that could take some weeks.
