Plea in the Avignon trial All defendants contributed to her martyrdom
Pelicot wants to initiate a change of heart in society with the public trial.
Image: dpa
Dozens of people come to court every day to support Gisèle Pelicot.
Image: dpa
Pelicot wants to initiate a change of heart in society with the public trial.
Image: dpa
Dozens of people come to court every day to support Gisèle Pelicot.
Image: dpa
Her husband and strangers allegedly raped Gisèle Pelicot for years. Pelicot's lawyer calls all 51 defendants in Avignon to account - and criticized parts of the defence.
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- In the plea, the co-plaintiff around victim Gisèle Pelicot emphasized the responsibility of all 51 defendants for the multiple rapes.
- All 50 men accused alongside Pelicot's ex-husband had decided to abuse a body that could not give consent.
- Gisèle Pelicot's lawyer Camus pointed out that criminal law could not fully grasp the seriousness of the crimes.
In the abuse trial in southern France, the co-plaintiff around victim Gisèle Pelicot emphasized the responsibility of all 51 defendants for the multiple rapes. "All of them understood, at least when they left this house of horrors, that others came before them and others would follow," said lawyer Antoine Camus. "Everyone contributed in their measure, at their level, to this monstrosity, to this martyrdom of this woman."
All 50 men accused alongside Pelicot's ex-husband had decided to abuse a body that could not give consent. All of them would have decided to say goodbye to thinking.
Pelicot's ex-husband is accused of drugging his then wife unconscious for almost ten years, abusing her and offering her to other men for rape. The man confessed in court. Gisèle Pelicot is believed to have suffered around 200 rapes.
Stéphane Babonneau, Gisèle Pelicot's second lawyer, demanded that the fact that the acts were committed jointly and by drugging should be recognized as aggravating circumstances. In France, rape is punishable by 15 years' imprisonment and aggravated rape is punishable by 20 years.
Lawyer: "Defense says a lot about who we are"
Gisèle Pelicot's lawyer Camus pointed out that criminal law could not fully grasp the seriousness of the crimes. He also criticized some of the defence strategies. More than half of the defendants claimed through their lawyers that they were not fully conscious. Some claim that the main defendant could also have drugged them. "Even if the defense is free, it says a lot about who we are," Camus said.
With the decision to conduct the trial openly, Pelicot also wanted to show how a rape will be defended in France in 2024. Not all victims are lucky enough to receive applause every day and encouragement to come back the next day. "They go through it alone in the room with their rapist."
Lawyer speaks of "perfect crime" approach
Commenting on the ex-husband's procedure of drugging his wife, Camus said: "Chemical subjugation is nothing other than the modus operandi of the perfect crime." Pelicot woke up every day at home with her husband. She did not know the other face of her husband.
Camus said that 99 percent of the victims of such an act have no evidence. The Pelicots' daughter, who suspects that she was also drugged and abused by her father, confirms this rule. Gisèle is the exception due to the mass of videos and photos of the acts. "Without these videos, it is likely that this abuse of Gisèle would have continued until it killed her."
dpa
