The hotel maid who claims she was sexually assaulted by ex-International Monetary Fund head Dominique Strauss-Kahn will have her day in court this week as her civil case proceeds in The Bronx.
But attorneys for Nafissatou Diallo will first have to prove Wednesday that Strauss-Kahn isn’t protected by diplomatic immunity.
The hearing, the first in the lawsuit, isn’t intended to weigh the essence of her allegation that Strauss-Kahn tried to sexually assault her when she arrived to clean his Sofitel luxury suite last May.
Rather, the hearing will revolve around the complex laws that shield diplomats from prosecution and lawsuits in their host countries.
“This is a very unique set of circumstances,” said Robert C. O’Brien, a former UN official who is now the managing partner of Arent Fox’s law office in LA.
Neither Diallo, 33, nor Strauss-Kahn, 62, is expected to attend.