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Strauss-Kahn pimping trial: LIVE REPORT

17:55 GMT - AFP IS CLOSING THIS LIVE REPORT on the latest in the ongoing pimping trial of Dominique Strauss-Kahn. Here's a round-up of today's proceedings: -- DSK denied knowing the women he had orgies with were prostitutes as he took to the stand to defend himself against "aggravated pimping" charges. He said the parties were only occasional and not as "wild" as claimed. -- The ex-IMF chief said he was "horrified" by the practice of using prostitutes and to do so would have been too great a risk for a man in his position. -- Ex-prostitute Mounia described how she was "crying and in pain" as she was compelled to perform a sexual act with DSK that was "against nature", at a party in Paris. Another sex-worker, Jade, described pleasuring Strauss-Kahn at the centre of an orgy of women. -- Strauss-Kahn's close friend, businessman Fabrice Paszkowski, who is accused of financing and organising the parties, said he never told the former IMF chief he had paid the women to attend -- a crucial factor in DSK's defence. The case continues. 17:36 GMT - Court closes - On that note today's hearing ends. Court to resume Wednesday at 08:30 GMT. 17:34 GMT - 'Many conquests' - "It is said I have had many conquests, probably fewer than in reality," says Strauss-Kahn. Asked about his friendship with Fabrice Paszkowski, DSK says: "Fabrice is a friend... When a friend makes a mistake he remains a friend," referring to his case that the businessman bought him prostitutes and passed them off as libertines. 17:25 GMT - 'Catastrophic damage' - DSK is called back for more questioning. He says his recollection of the Murano gathering does not match Jade's version of events and hits out at the press. "The damage caused by the media's exploitation of this affair has been catastrophic. All this is deplorable." Jade "deserves our compassion", says DSK, but "we haven't experienced the same scenes." 17:06 GMT - IQ test - The presiding judge reads a psychiatric report on ex-prostitute Jade, revealing an above-average IQ of 130. 16:57 GMT - 'Free choice' - DSK's defence reads an account by a participant in the sex parties who said the events at the Parisian restaurant could absolutely be described in French as "libertinage", or swinging. According to the lawyer the women were "free" to get involved in sexual play, or not. 16:47 GMT - Numbers - Strauss-Kahn's defence tries to understand how many men and women were present at the Murano with the aim of showing that there were as many men as women and therefore can rightly be seen as "swinging". 16:42 GMT - Unshaken - DSK remains unshakeable as Jade, wearing a light wig and dark glasses and a big roll-neck sweater, continues this revealing narrative, expressing herself clearly and with aplomb. 16:25 GMT - 'Animalistic' - More details follow from Jade about the Murano orgy which she insists again was "not swinging". She sees it rather as "animalistic". "I've worked in (swinging) clubs. You need to have a balance of men and women," she explains. Jade says she didn't know who DSK was at the time of the Murano episode. "I don't have a telly," she says, claiming she effectively "lives in a cave" at one of Dodo the Pimp's establishments. When she sees him on TV later she remarks "It's him but he's dressed!". 16:11 GMT - Talking dirty - The discourse turns a little more crude as the main judge asks of Jade: "did you speak to Mr Strauss-Kahn?" The ex-prostitute replies: "Not really as I had him in my mouth." 16:03 GMT - 'No swingers' - The judges call back Jade, the ex-prostitute and main accuser along with fellow retired sex-worker Mounia. She describes the scene at the Murano hotel, with DSK on a bed covered in women: "There was a man with lots of woman around him. I was right in the middle of all these girls surrounding a man. "It was not swinging - there were no other men.... no one asked my name, just put a hand on my head for fellatio." - Down and dirty - 15:35 GMT - Ten offers - Speaking about the meal at "l'aventure" which ended in sexual intercourse, DSK says: "I found myself 10 times in a situation where a woman was offering herself. It's not something which was totally unknown to me." 15:17 GMT - 'Prostitute not pimp' - "I went to Paris as a prostitute, not as a manager (of a brothel in Belgium)," Legrain tells the court, adding that she received her payment after returning home. 15:14 GMT - Dodo's partner - Next up... Beatrice Legrain, the partner and associate of Dodo the Pimp, to explain what happened at the restaurant "L'aventure". She explains that she had sexual relations at the restaurant with David Roquet but not with DSK. She says the evening was "very jolly". 14:56 GMT - Sixth sense - The prosecutor puts it to ex-police commissioner Jean-Christophe Lagarde, that he was an "experienced police officer... an excellent cop" with 25 years' experience... Why then did he not ask any questions about the actual status of the "libertines"? "I don't have the sixth sense to be able to discern a person's status," replies Lagarde. Prosecutor retorts: "We have understood nothing about the training of police officers." 14:55 GMT - 'Friends' - The panel of judges question how it was possible that certain members of the so-called "circle of friends" -- Roquet, Pazkowski, Lagarde and DSK -- could hide from the others the fact that the women taken along to the "libertine" gatherings were paid prostitutes. Lagarde is called to give evidence... 14:48 GMT - Pressing questions - David Roquet appears at times stifled by testing questions from prosecutor Aline Clérot. From the start of the trial she has pressed the witnesses to call a spade a spade. Now she insists that if Paszkowski was "host" as he describes himself, he was therefore "organiser". Similarly "paid libertines" are surely "prostitutes"? 14:38 GMT - Tears - Questioned on this morning's emotional testimony by ex-sex worker Mounia, Roquet replies coldly: "I've also been crying non-stop for three years." Mounia, sat with her back to the public and journalists, shakes her head at the comment. 14:33 GMT - Roquet - David Roquet is the next to be quizzed but his answers are less clear than the previous witnesses and he often mumbles. Like Paszkowski, Roquet says he hid the fact that the woman involved in the parties were prostitutes. 14:21 GMT - 'In secret' - "No one was meant to know that they were prostitutes, it was a secret," says Paszkowski, adding: "The payments were made discreetly." 14:12 GMT - Paszkowski - DSK returns to the defendants' bench, where he is sat between co-accused David Roquet and Dominique Alderweireld, aka Dodo the Pimp, a Belgian brothel owner. Next up to give evidence is Fabrice Paszkowski, called to defend his friend DSK. The businessman says he never told Strauss-Kahn that the women at the orgies were paid. He says it was "not exactly brilliant" to say the libertines were in fact prostitutes. "I never speak of remuneration," he tells the court, adding that he never felt he was falling foul of the law. - 'Secret' payments - 13:58 GMT - Swingers - The judge asks DSK why he didn't go to swingers clubs rather than to apartments or restaurants. "I went to some clubs abroad but not in France," Strauss-Kahn replies, citing the "notoriety" of such clubs in France. 13:54 GMT - Sexual pleasure - The ex-IMF leader defends himself with vigour. He is talkative, he avoids nothing. When asked to define a "libertine" party, he says: "These are parties where couples, single men, or single women, get together for the pleasure of sex and not for any emotional reasons. "The main reason (for the parties) is the pleasure of sex." 13:48 GMT - 'Recreation' - Strauss-Kahn explains that the women attending the sex parties were "accompanying friends", that "they didn't come for me. " He keeps stressing that it was just fun, recreational. 13:43 GMT - Facts 'hidden' - If he knew the women were paid? "I would have stopped participating in these parties," says DSK. He says Paszkowski "hid from him" the fact that they were prostitutes, adding that the businessman "didn't realise" the risky position he was putting Strauss-Kahn in by bringing him prostitutes. 13:35 GMT - Paid sex - Strauss-Kahn says he's not interested in paid sex. "I don't enjoy it. I like it to be fun," he says, adding that it would also be too great a risk for a man of his standing. Asked about his sexual encounter with Mounia, he says: "I didn't notice she was crying". The now retired prostitute earlier broke into tears as she recounted one of the nights with Strauss-Kahn in a Parisian hotel, saying she had been forced to commit a sexual act which was "against nature". 13:25 GMT - Who organised? - DSK denies being the organiser of the events, telling the court: "I was never the organiser of these parties...I didn't have the time to organise any party." Describing the nature of the gatherings, he says: "It was either a lunch, or something more jolly and playful, sexual, let's not mince words." 13:15 GMT - 'Party guest' - The hearing resumes. DSK is called to stand. He is asked to explain events at the Murano hotel. Questioned about how he came to be invited to sex parties at the Paris hotel, he says he considered himself a guest. - Guest or organiser? - 13:09 GMT - Smiling - Back in the courtroom, a smiling and relaxed-looking Strauss-Kahn is drinking coffee and speaking quietly with Paskowski and lawyers of the co-defendants. The hearing is set to resume with another ex-prostitute, Jade taking the stand. 13:05 GMT - Round-up - A quick summary of this morning's proceedings before the afternoon session begins: -- Ex-IMF boss Dominique Strauss-Kahn took to the stand to face the charge of aggravated pimping. He said he had committed no crime and denied knowing the women he took part in sex parties with were prostitutes. The parties were only occasional and there was none of the "wild activity" of which he is accused, he insisted. -- Retired prostitute Mounia broke down in tears as she recounted one of the nights with Strauss-Kahn in a Parisian hotel, saying she had been forced to commit a sexual act which was "against nature". "I was crying, I was in pain," said Mounia, adding that she went along with it because she needed the money. -- Businessmen David Roquet and Fabrice Paszkowski and former police commissioner Jean-Christophe Lagarde, accused of being the organisers and financiers of the sex parties, were also called to give evidence. Lagarde said he was "honoured" to be able to mix with someone of DSK's renown and intellect. 11:41 GMT - Hearing suspended - Court takes a break to resume at 13:00 GMT. The defendants and their lawyers have left the court without further comments. 11:38 GMT - Mixing - Libertinism or party with prostitutes? DSK's lawyer tries to make Mounia falter. "For me it was a party atmosphere to have relations with DSK," says Mounia. "There was no mixing (between the other men and women), at least not in front of me." 11:21 GMT - No emotion - Strauss-Kahn gives away no emotion during the ex-prostitute's testimony, despite the unflattering description she gives of his behaviour towards her. He sits chewing gum and scratching his nose or chin from time to time. Now he's in discussion with his lawyer who is sat next to him. 11:16 GMT - Conflicting accounts - The presiding judge reads out testimonies of other women present at the Murano hotel, giving divergent accounts. "I am not of the same opinion as them," murmurs Mounia quietly. 11:04 GMT - Twitchy - The atmosphere is heavy in the courtroom. DSK, on the defendants' bench, listens but twitches and lowers his head from time to time. 10:59 GMT - 'Power struggle' - "I cried, I was in pain," Mounia tells the court, in tears now. "I wasn't used to this sort of practice. It was a power struggle." "Brutal?", the judge asks. "Yes", she replies, adding that she went along with it because she needed the money. However she said that no question of money, or fees for her services were raised with Strauss-Kahn. 10:40 GMT - Gestures - Mounia explains, however, how she refused to consent to a particular sex act (understood to be anal sex) expressing this with gestures, rather than words and crying, reports AFP's Nicloas Gubert "Did (DSK) notice?" the judge asks. Mounia: "Yes. It is his smile that struck me, from start to finish." 10:37 GMT - Consenting - The presiding judge quizzes Mounia about an evening at the hotel Murano in Paris where she was taken for a party with DSK and others. "Did you consent to it?" he asks. She replies "Yes". - Sex worker's story - 10:33 GMT - Sex worker - Next up is ex-prostitute Mounia, who said on Monday she was specifically chosen for DSK by one of the businessmen who threw parties for him. She told the court then that David Roquet, who appeared earlier in today's hearing, "told me he came to see if I would please this man". 10:26 GMT - 'Unaware' - The four figures we have seen so far are now all brought before the tribunal: DSK, Paszkowski, Roquet, Lagarde. "Strauss-Kahn explains clearly and with gusto his personal background and links with the three co-accused, as well as his activities when he was head of the IMF," reports AFP's Benjamin Massot. "I was never aware of the prostitutional aspect," of the parties, DSK tells the court before sitting back down with the three others. 10:16 GMT - Central figure - "Were you the most important man in this world?" judge asks DSK. "I don't know if that was the case but some thought so," Strauss-Kahn replies. 10:10 GMT - 'Not wild' - "I committed neither crime, nor offence," Strauss-Kahn tells the court. He says the sex parties were rare and there was no "wild activity". 10:03 GMT - STRAUSS-KAHN DENIES COMMITTING ANY CRIME 10:02 GMT - Interrogation - A letter read by the presiding judge reveals how Strauss-Kahn refused psychiatric or psychological expertise because it could have been leaked to the press. DSK is now being questioned by David Lepidi, lawyer for a civil plaintiff in the case, on his professional life and his asset management company. - 'No crime, no offence' - 09:53 GMT - Tension - AFP's Fran Blandy tweets @franblandy: "Strauss-Kahn appears tired, tense, court hears he refused psychiatric evaluation for the trial, focus for now on career, personality." 09:47 GMT - DOMINIQUE STRAUSS-KAHN TAKES THE STAND 09:46 GMT - 'Libertine' - Strauss-Kahn's defence rests on the premise that, while he is a self-confessed "libertine" who enjoyed orgies, he believed the women involved in his sex parties were like-minded adults, rather than paid professionals. Co-accused Lagarde now gives his definition of "libertinism": "These are sexual relations, outside of conventional social relationships, with people whom you don't know. The encounters are shared and consensual," he tells the court. 09:38 GMT - 'Honoured' - Lagarde replies with confidence to the tribunal's questions. "It was an honour to be able to converse with such a renowned personality and someone of an intellectual level far superior to mine," the former police chief says. "I was honoured to be able to speak with him." "I didn't expect anything on a professional level," he adds. 09:30 GMT - Police chief - Now in the dock is ex-police commissioner Jean-Christophe Lagarde, another organiser of the sex parties that DSK attended. Lagarde says there was no reason to ask the women at the orgies if they were prostitutes, adding: "I would have been slapped, I think". 09:21 GMT - 'Good friends' - Paszkowski says he and Strauss-Kahn were good friends. "We will see later if this was reciprocal," the judge responds, with a hint of sarcasm. The witness says he never profited from his links with DSK, who is listening attentively from his seat. The ex-IMF chief's three lawyers, sat behind him, have been frequently buried in discussion as the co-defendants give evidence. 09:13 GMT - No jury - Describing the scene in the Palais de Justice, AFP's Fran Blandy says: "In this austere, wood-panelled courtroom, defendants take the stand behind a triangular, stone podium, in front of four judges seated behind a massive stone bench. There is no jury in this lower criminal court." She adds: "Two ex-prostitutes Jade and Mounia chatting in court, appear nervous, fidgety. They will come face to face with Strauss-Kahn later." 09:10 GMT - 'Normal sex life' - "I never had the feeling of having committed reprehensible acts," Pazkowski tells the court, adding: "I have a normal sex life." 09:03 GMT - Paszkowski - Next up is Fabrice Paszkowski, another businessman who threw the sex parties for DSK, and it's his turn to answer questions about his personality. "His responses are short, precise and sober. He is showing far less emotion than Roquet," says AFP's Nicolas Gubert. 08:58 GMT - Tearful - Roquet's voice breaks and he's on the verge of tears when asked what job he does now, having lost his previous job. The businessman says ties with DSK gave him the opportunity to boost his value in the eyes of superiors. Asked if he wants to add anything, Roquet says he is a charitable man, who gave money to disabled people and to a "save the whales" charity. 08:47 GMT - Roquet - First, businessman David Roquet, who organised sex parties for Strauss-Kahn, takes the stand. Strauss-Kahn sitting hands in lap, still appears relaxed, says AFP's Fran Blandy. In an interview with French TV station BFM last week Roquet said he quietly paid the women after the parties and that Strauss-Kahn was unaware they were prostitutes. This argument is also the crux of the ex-IMF chief's defence, with DSK's lawyers arguing that he did not know the women were paid. 08:37 GMT - In the spotlight - The spotlight is on Strauss-Kahn today in the second week of the trial as he comes face-to-face with two of the now retired sex workers whom he allegedly procured. The first day of the trial attracted around 300 journalists and the benches of the courtroom are filled with reporters again today to hear the 65-year-old's version of events. 08:30 GMT - DSK 'relaxed' - After that opening drama, Strauss-Kahn has taken his place in the courtroom, dressed in a blue suit and light-blue tie. He stands talking to his two lawyers and seems relaxed, reports Benjamin Massot. 08:28 GMT - Arrests - "As DSK's car arrived a young woman took off her coat and threw herself on the bonnet of the car, breasts bare," says AFP's Benjamin Massot from the scene. "Two other young girls followed and lifted their coats. At least one of them ended up on the ground. The women were then handcuffed and arrested by police." 08:18 GMT - Topless protesters - Nudity and sexual content were always a given as Strauss-Kahn gives evidence today and it seems the stage has already been set. Three topless women from the protest group Femen jumped on the car of Dominique Strauss-Kahn as the former IMF chief arrived to testify. With slogans scrawled on their half-naked bodies and hurling insults at the car, the three protesters were quickly rounded up by police as the car entered an underground parking area. 08:07 GMT - WELCOME TO AFP'S LIVE REPORT on the trial of ex-IMF boss Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who is set to take the stand for the first time to answer pimping charges. Strauss-Kahn will have three days to fend off accusations that he procured prostitutes for sex parties along with 13 others on trial at the courthouse in Lille, northern France. The former French presidential hopeful, known in France as DSK, is expected to argue that while he is a libertine who enjoyed orgies, he had no idea the women involved were prostitutes.