| UN Staffer Indicted For Raping in
Iraq and US Now Get Court Delay Into Summer
Impunity
By Matthew
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SDNY Courthouse,
Feb 9 – UN former staff member
Karim Elkorany was arrested
then freed on $500,000 bond on
September 2 in connection with
drugging and raping women in
Iraq while working for the UN
in 2016, then allegedly lying
to the FBI about it in 2017.
A
superseding indictment
belatedly unsealed on October
29 said Elkorany raped a UN
contractor, in the US and
Dohuk, Iraq. And still the UN
did nothing.
On November
9, another brief status
conference in the case, which
Inner City Press live tweeted:
AUSA Richenthal
says the US is reviewing more
electronic devices.
Elkorany's lawyer
Dawn Cardi asks for 90 more
days' delay, since some of the
discovery is marked
"Restricted."
Judge Buchwald:
In the times of COVID, to
maintain social distance
between lawyer and defendant,
90 days is not unreasonable.
We are heading into the end of
the year period, very
different this year. I ask you
to make sure that the 90 days
is all the time needed
And so
February 9 at 10:30 am was
arrived at. And Inner City
Press again covered it, here:
(Podcast here)
Elkorany's lawyer
wants to delay 90 days.
The Assistant US
Attorney says given the
victims in this case they want
to move faster.
Elkorany's lawyer
says she has some state trials
so she need more time.
Now AUSA says 30
days to respond to defense's
motions. That would be June
10. And see here.
Inner City Press,
which has asked the UN in
writing for comment, will
continue to cover it.
The
US Attorney for the Southern
District of New York stated
that Elkorany,
"a former
communications
specialist
with the
United Nations
in Iraq, was
charged in an
Indictment in
Manhattan
federal court
with two
counts of
making false
statements to
special agents
of the FBI in
an effort to
conceal his
drugging and
sexual assault
of multiple
women while he
worked for the
UN...In or
around
December 2016,
Victim-1
reported the
sexual assault
to the
UN. The
UN initiated
an
investigation,
through which
ELKORANY was
notified of
the substance
of Victim-1’s
allegations
against him."
The UN
claims it has a zero tolerance
and blacklisting policy for
sexual abuse, but despite a
victim complaining to the UN
in this case, on Wednesday
Elkorany was leaving freely in
New Jersey when he was
arrested.
The
superseding indict which was
intially wrongly kept under
seal says Elkorany raped
Victim-2, a UN contractor, in
Dohuk, Iraq and in the US. So
the UN's inaction contributed
to the rape of a UN contractor
- and still NOTHING from the
UN of Antonio Guterres. We'll
have more on this.
On
September 16 the US Attorney's
Office, already under fire for
withholding information, filed
a Protective Order to withhold
from the Press and public
information about this UN
official's "names and/or other
identifying information or
photographs of individuals
alleged to have been sexually
assaulted and/or drugged by
the defendant or with whom the
defendant had a romantic or
physical relationship; (b)
non-public nude, semi-nude, or
sexualized photographs," if it
has been " provided to the
Government by the United
Nations." So the UN has been
producing pornography, and is
not itself indicted, only this
Elkorany? We'll have more on
this.
On
September 2 after 6 pm, as
exclusively reported by Inner
City Press which has been
banned from the UN for its
questions, was released on a
bond to be signed by his
father and brother, but
allowed to leave home to work
from 8 am to 6 pm.
There was another
proceeding on September 10,
before District Judge Naomi
Reice Bulkwald. Inner City
Press live tweeted it, here:
Elkorany's lawyer
has not responded to the US
Attorney's proposed protective
order. Note: little in this
case should be withheld or
sealed - it is about spending
public's money for a UN
staffer to drug and rape women
in Iraq, then have the UN
cover it up.
AUSA
Pomerantz: There are cell
phone and laptops that the FBI
is in the process of
extracting. [What will
they show about the UN
of @AntonioGuterres ? ]
Since the
cell phones and devices are
being extracted to produce
discovery, next date is
November 9, 11:45 am. Inner
City Press will continue to
cover this case and the UN.
Then in the
docket, this: "Pretrial
Conference as to Karim
Elkorany held on 9/10/2020.
Initial conference as to Karim
Elkorany held by telephone on
9/10/2020. Lara Pomerantz,
Amanda Houle and Daniel
Richenthal for the government;
Dawn Cardi for the defendant;
Defendant Karim Elkorany;
court reporter present.
Conference scheduled for
November 9, 2020 at 11:45a.m.
Speedy trial time excluded
until November 9, 2020."
Inner City
Press also covered the
September 2, 6:20 pm
presentment of Elkorany, here:
Elkorany is
represented by Dawn Cardi of
Cardi & Edgar LLP of 99
Madison Avenue.
Judge Cott: I
take it you are retained, Ms.
Cardi?
Cardi: I am.
Judge Cott: Mr
Elkorany, if you are a citizen
of another country you may
have a right to consular
notification.
Cardi: He pleads
not guilty.
Judge Cott:
First, confirm you are waiving
a public reading.
Cardi: Correct.
AUSA Houle: "The
parties have a proposed bail
package. A $500,000 personal
recognizance bond co-signed by
his father Awny ELkorany and
brother Nor Elkorany.
Surrender of all passports by
five pm tomorrow. Home
detention at parents' home.
AUSA Houle: He
can leave 8 am to 6 pm for
work.
AUSA Houle:
Refrain from any contact with
victims. Drug testing and
treatment as directed by Pre
Trial Services. Release today
provided he is fitted for GPS
which we understand Pre Trial
is prepared to do.
AUSA Houle: Dan
Richenthal has confirmed they
can do it. Richenthal:
Officer Trale (sp) told me it
would be possible to 5 pm. So
I'm not positive.
Judge Cott: What
do you want to do? Cardi: I am
proposing he return home and
return tomorrow morning.
Cardi: The
suretors probably can't sign
today either.
Judge Cott: When
was he arrested?
AUSA Houle: 6 am
this morning.
Cardi: My client
does not have his phone and no
money to get back to New
Jersey. Can someone lend him
the money?
Judge Cott: I
cannot deal with minutia like
this right now.
Elkorany
was listed as a UN
"Communications Specialist" --
Fleming's forte -- on press
releases about Toyota, here.
He was interviewed on UN
Radio, here.
But of course, UN Spokesperson
Staphane Dujarric claims he
knows nothing about it and
that Guterres has a
"principled position."
Inner City
Press is asking the UN, On UN
staffer Karim Elkorany,
indicted in SDNY for lying to
FBI about drugging and raping
women while working for UN in
Iraq, immediately state what
the outcome of the victim
complaining to the UN was -
and why Elkorany was back at
liberty in New Jersey.
This is
specifically asked in the
context of this statement:
"UNDP participates in a joint
project with other UN agencies
to maintain a system-wide
database called "Clear Check"
to ensure that former
personnel involved in
substantiated cases of sexual
harassment, exploitation and
abuse with one entity in the
UN system cannot be employed
by another entity." So what
did the UN actually do, other
than transport a rapist from
New Jersey to Iraq then
bringing him home to live
free?
The case is US v.
Elkorany, 20-cr-437
(Buchwald). Watch this site.
***
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