Rape victim from Avignon Gisèle Pelicot speaks of a "trial of cowardice"
Gisèle Pelicot speaks for the last time in the trial for countless rapes in the south of France. The abuse victim has clear words for the statements of some of the accused.
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- Abuse victim Gisèle Pelicot has sharply criticized the statements of several defendants in her latest testimony.
- The accused have stated that they were controlled by others or drugged themselves.
- "We are trivializing rape," criticized the woman in her early seventies.
In the trial for multiple rapes in the south of France, abuse victim Gisèle Pelicot has sharply criticized the statements of several defendants. "This is the trial of cowardice", Pelicot said in her last statement before the pleadings began. She had heard things that were unacceptable, that one could not bear to hear. Pelicot referred to defendants who claimed to have been controlled by others or possibly drugged themselves.
In the mammoth trial, 51 men are on trial. The main defendant, Pelicot's husband at the time, is said to have drugged and abused his wife for almost ten years. He also had her raped by strangers while she was unconscious. The defendants face up to 20 years in prison. Gisèle Pelicot herself estimates that she was raped around 200 times.
"It is very difficult for me when it is said that it is practically a banality to have raped Madame Pelicot," said Gisèle Pelicot in court. She wondered when the accused had decided not to report the incident. Society is patriarchal and must recognize this. "We trivialize rape," criticized the woman in her early seventies.
In the afternoon, Pelicot's ex-husband also took the floor for the last time. The main defendant said that it had been his fantasy to subjugate an unconscious woman. He had acted out of pure selfishness. The other defendants had voluntarily participated in his actions. "When you play this game, you have to recognize what you've done." Nevertheless, he said that without him, the other defendants would not be in the courtroom.
In the trial, which has been running since September, the pleadings of the co-plaintiff around Gisèle Pelicot begin on Wednesday. The prosecution will then present its claims next week. The verdict in the trial is scheduled for mid-December.
dpa
