Ms Pelicot has attended the mass rape trial from its start in September.
About 15 defendants sat in the defendants’ box while Dominique Pelicot sat in another box, resting his chin on his hand.
A handful of the 50 admit raping Gisèle Pelicot, but the majority do not.
There was complete silence as they looked at each other and Dominique Pelicot then held his head in his hands.
The rest of the family, their faces filled with anguish, stared at him, while Gisèle Pelicot herself did not react.
Twelve hours ago.
Gozi, Laura.
in the French court of Avignon.
France’s “macho, patriarchal society” that “trivializes rape” needs to change, according to Gisèle Pelicot, who called the mass rape case of 51 men a “trial of cowardice.”.
During the course of nearly ten years at their Mazan home, Dominique Pelicot, her ex-husband, has acknowledged enlisting dozens of men online to rape her while she was intoxicated and unconscious.
There was a commotion during a dramatic court day when a defense attorney claimed she was still controlled by her ex-husband and that she was incapable of completely denouncing him.
Since the mass rape trial began in September, Ms. Pelicot has been present. She has given up her right to remain anonymous, allowing the trial to take place in full public view in Avignon.
In addition to shocking France, the case has drawn attention from all over the world. It has brought attention to the problem of drug-induced rape and sparked debate over whether or not consent ought to be included in the French definition of rape.
Please be advised that this report contains some graphic details right from the outset.
During Tuesday’s session, attorneys representing the men on trial for rape had their final opportunity to persuade the judges that Dominique Pelicot, her ex-husband, had somehow deceived them into raping her while she was unconscious.
Dominique Pelicot was sitting in a different box with his chin resting on his hand, while about fifteen defendants were seated in the defendants’ box. The majority of the 50 do not confess to raping Gisèle Pelicot, but a few do.
Dominique Pelicot firmly stated, “Absolutely not,” when asked if he believed he had drugged the other defendants or coerced them into raping his wife. “..”.
He implied that they had “saved themselves” by using that defense.
Additionally, Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney asked him to address his family, particularly his daughter Caroline.
Caroline’s partially nude photos were discovered on Dominique Pelicot’s laptop. When questioned about the file he had named “my naked daughter,” he said to her across the room, “I have watched her fall apart.”. I didn’t ever touch you, Caroline. “,”.
“You are lying,” she yelled across the court, “and I’m tired of you lying. You’re the only one who will die lying. “..”.
As they exchanged glances and Dominique Pelicot took his head in his hands, there was total silence.
Gisèle Pelicot herself did not respond, but the rest of the family, their faces pained, gazed at him.
Philippe L, the final defendant out of the 50, stated shortly before Ms. Pelicot’s testimony that Dominique Pelicot had invited him into his house and demanded that he penetrate Gisèle Pelicot, leaving him “surprised” by the circumstances.
Additionally, he denies rape, claiming that he “was thinking with my penis instead of my brain” and set aside his conscience.
Although she acknowledged that “today I can feel the tiredness,” Ms. Pelicot told the court that she “knew what I was signing up for” by forfeiting her right to a trial behind closed doors after Philippe L left the dock.
Ms. Pelicot stated that “all came to rape me” when asked if she believed there was a difference between those who had confessed to raping her and those who hadn’t. Each of them committed a crime.
But she made it clear that “I looked them in the eye” when the defendant confessed to rape in the dock.
She stated, “I’ve witnessed people who deny rape parade before the court.”. “I want to ask these men: did Ms. Pelicot give you permission to enter that bedroom?”.
“I’ve heard things like ‘I was drugged, I drank a glass of water, and I was manipulated.’… But when did they fail to realize?
Additionally, Ms. Pelicot was questioned about why, after her own children had adopted different names, she still used her ex-husband’s name.
When she calmly replied that her grandchildren were still called Pelicot, even though her children were embarrassed by the name when she had first appeared in court in Avignon, the room fell silent.
She said, “Today, I want them to be proud of their grandmother.”.
“My name has become well-known worldwide. They shouldn’t feel embarrassed about having that name. We shall commemorate Gisèle Pelicot today. “,”.
The courtroom heated up when defense attorney Nadia El-Bouroumi questioned Ms. Pelicot, implying that she had used “harsh words” against the other defendants but not her husband.
“Looking at you – and I’m sorry to say this – I wondered whether we’d ever see you cry,” El-Bouroumi said at one point.
The public and media inside the courtroom gasped at the lawyer’s combative and occasionally aggressive tone, and many people shook their heads in shock.
Ms. Pelicot dismissed the idea that, in retrospect, she might have “seen the signs” that something might not have been right on the mornings following her drug use: “I would wake up wearing my typical pajamas, so no.”. “,”.
She described how the drugs her ex-husband had given her without her knowledge caused her to lose ten years of her life due to health issues.
“I was afraid I would either die or wind up in a mental hospital,” she said. I’m 72 years old, and I’m not sure how long I have left. “.
Additionally, defense attorneys questioned her regarding the pictures of their daughter Caroline that were on Dominique Pelicot’s laptop.
Gisèle Pelicot later stated that it “isn’t a family trial” after the Pelicots’ children stormed out of the courtroom and wouldn’t return for a while.
As the attorneys from both sides yelled at one another, Ms. Pelicot stood silently in court when a defense attorney told her that she was still controlled by her ex-husband and could not bring herself to fully condemn him.
In order to end the argument, the presiding judge had to step in.
The court later heard a statement made by Dominique Pelicot to police in November 2020, two months after a supermarket security guard had discovered him filming beneath women’s skirts.
Eventually, this resulted in the discovery of thousands of recordings he had made of men having sex with his wife while she was unconscious. She discovered he had been drugging her from 2011 to 2020, but she was unaware of what had happened.
A verdict in the second half of December is expected to conclude the trial next month.
