Former IMF managing director Dominique Strauss-Kahn was released without bail court Friday, freed from house arrest after prosecutors acknowledged that serious doubts about the credibility of the hotel housekeeper who accused him of sexual assault .
The charges include attempted rape, was not abandoned, but a relaxation of his conditions of bail reported that prosecutors do not believe the charges are bulletproof as they once were.
"It'sa great relief," said Strauss-Kahn Attorney, William Taylor. "It is very important in this country that people, especially the media to refrain from judgments until the facts are all in"
After his arrest, Mr. Strauss-Kahn, 62, resigned as leader of the IMF and saw their presidential ambitions in France seems to crumble. Who had been confined for a week for a luxury loft in New York with $ 6 million in cash and bonds.
32 years, hotel maid accused of Strauss-Kahn, chasing him through his luxury suite in May to try to make her pantyhose and forced her to perform oral sex. The authorities said they have forensic evidence of sexual encounter, but defense lawyers have said he was not forced.
The tour takes in the case of the woman came after prosecutors admitted that he had a history of being raped and beaten in her home country, Guinea to improve its asylum policy, prosecutors said in a letter to defense lawyers.
She also misrepresented what he did after the alleged assault - instead of running into a hallway and waiting for a supervisor, went to another room cleaned and then returned to clean up after Strauss-Kahn before telling your supervisor was attacked, prosecutors said.
He also misrepresented his income and said the child to another person as his own tax burden, they said.
Talk about the details of the credibility of the maid, and if his story stood up and accused oath, that rely heavily on his testimony.
Woman's lawyer, Ken Thompson, blow back of the court, the district attorney's office said it was withdrawing from the case because he was too scared to pursue it. He said he would come out publicly to tell stories, but did not specify when.
Thompson said the woman went to the prosecutor of the information that his asylum application was flawed, but it was exaggerated, because she was afraid she would be returned to Guinea. He says she came to America because she was a victim of female circumcision, and she worries for her daughter, now 15, would also be victims. He also said that she was raped by soldiers, but the attack did not occur as it was written in her application for asylum.
Thompson said that Strauss-Kahn battered woman's genitals, he tore a ligament in his shoulder and tore down and struggled to escape.
Investigators said they found traces of his sperm on his uniform.
"From day one, she described a violent sexual assault that Dominique Strauss-Kahn has committed against him," said Thompson. "She described repeated sexual abuse that prosecutors and for me, and never changed after a single thing about the meeting. "
Thompson also said that press reports saying his client was involved in a drug dealer is located.
The New York Times, citing unidentified law implementation officer, said the woman was saved on the phone with a man locked in the day, she made the allegations, if the press to discuss his case in court.
The newspaper said the man was arrested for possession of marijuana charges and had deposited cash in the bank account of the woman.
"Clearly this woman has made some mistakes, but that does not mean that there is a rape victim," said Thompson.
Strauss-Kahn came to court Friday morning in a Lexus SUV and walked with confidence granite steps with his wife, French journalist Anne Sinclair, at his side.
Following this consultation, has slowly abandoned the palace, his hand on his shoulder, smiling crowd gathered outside.
It was not returned his passport and he will still not be allowed to leave the country. His other lawyer, Benjamin Brafman, said Mr. Strauss-Kahn would be free to travel to the U.S.
Prosecutors offered few details on the turn in the process. Assistant District Attorney Joan Illuzzi-Orbon said further investigation led them forward.
"At the time this case came to the district attorney's office, we faced a credible allegation of sexual assault," she said, noting that prosecutors had immediately reported the alleged assault and had a "history of strong work."
Supreme Court Justice Michael Obus, the release of Strauss-Kahn said he would not rush to judge either way.
Illuzzi-Orbon said: "Although it is clear that the strength of the case has contributed significantly to the credibility questions about the complaint, we will move to distinguish the case at this time."
If the case falls apart, it could again shake up the race for the French presidency. Strauss-Kahn, a prominent socialist, was seen as a potential rival conservative President Nicolas Sarkozy, the leader in next year's elections - to the charges in New York, ashamed of his party and led to his resignation IMF.
"Those who know the Dominique Strauss-Kahn, is not surprised by this trend of events", one of his French lawyer, Leon Forster, LEF, told The Associated Press in Paris. "What has been accused of any relationship with his personality. It 'was something that was not credible."
New doubts about the accuser of Strauss-Kahn also revive speculation about a plot against Strauss-Kahn to disrupt his presidential possibilities. A few days after his arrest, according to a survey suggested that most of the French think Strauss-Kahn, who has always had a reputation as a womanizer and was dubbed "the great seducer," was the victim of a conspiracy.
Strauss-Kahn, was detained without bail for nearly a week after his arrest in May. His lawyers finally persuaded a judge to release him to accept everything - the conditions, including an ankle monitor, surveillance cameras and armed guards - and expensive. He was only allowed to leave the court, the weekly religious services and visits to doctors and lawyers.
Security measures have been estimated at $ 200 000 cost him a month, on top of the $ 50,000 a month to rent the town house in the neighborhood of the city of TriBeCa.
New York law, the judges' decisions based on factors such as guarantees on the character of the defendant, financial and criminal background, and the strength of the case - all designed to help assess the likelihood that a person has to flee if released.
Strauss-Kahn, is scheduled to return to court July 18.