French prosecutors charged former minister Damien Abad with attempted rape on Thursday, following accusations from one of three women who have alleged he committed sexual assault, according to sources close to the case.
The 44-year-old lawmaker from President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist Renaissance party has called the accusations “unfounded.”
The attempted rape charge stems from a 2010 incident at a party hosted at Abad’s Paris home, with the allegation made by another lawmaker. Two other cases, dating back to 2010 and 2011, are still under investigation.
In a statement to AFP, Abad expressed confidence in disproving the accusations, stating he had “no doubt” he would be cleared in the other cases.
Abad was appointed solidarity minister in May 2022, overseeing policies for the disabled. However, the Mediapart investigative website soon published testimonies from two women claiming he assaulted them in 2010 and 2011, prompting a third woman to come forward.
Parliament subsequently lifted Abad’s immunity, leading to his brief arrest in June 2023 before being released as the investigation continued. He was removed from the cabinet in July 2022.
By FCCT Editorial Team
, an independent military force, and allied militias in Sudan raped several dozen women and girls in West Darfur’s capital, El Geneina, and those fleeing to Chad between late April and late June 2023, Human Rights Watch said today. The assailants appear to have targeted people because of their Massalit ethnicity and, in some cases, because they were known activists.){kind=link}