French mass drug-rape trial: Victim gets cheers, but defence lawyers for 50 defendants walk a tightrope amid jeers

Nevin Al Sukari - Sana'a - Gisele Pelicot arrives with her lawyers Stephane Babonneau (right) and Antoine Camus at the courthouse of Avignon during the trial of her former husband Dominique Pelicot accused of drugging her for nearly ten years and inviting strangers to rape her at their home in Mazan, a small town in the south of France, in Avignon, on September 23, 2024. — AFP pic

AVIGNON, Sept 30 — Gisele Pelicot enters the courtroom to applause from the public gallery. But the warm welcome sometimes transforms into jeers when defence lawyers representing dozens of suspects in the mass rape trial arrive.

The French woman’s former husband, who has admitted to the allegations against him, is accused of enlisting men to rape his drugged wife over nearly a decade, a case that has shocked the country and turned Gisele Pelicot, 71, into an icon.

Dominique Pelicot, 71, is not alone in the dock — 49 other men are accused of raping or attempting to rape his wife, and another has admitted to sedating his own spouse so that he and Pelicot could sexually assault her.

Lawyers for some of the accused say efforts to defend their clients — already tricky in a case this scrutinised — are further complicated by colleagues seemingly going too far in attacking Gisele Pelicot.

“If one goes off the rails, all the lawyers go off the rails,” said defence attorney Olivier Lantelme, adding all the counsels for the defence are being “lumped together”.

Some defence lawyers have insinuated Gisele Pelicot was a willing participant in a libertine couple’s sex game, a suggestion she called humiliating and vehemently rejected.

“I never, even for a single second, gave my consent to Mr Pelicot or those other men” who are also on trial, she said.

‘Rape is rape’

Despite the palpable “animosity” towards the accused and their lawyers, Lantelme said a proper defence is an essential component of the justice system.

“It’s because someone was defended... that we can be sure that when a man is found guilty, we’re not making a mistake,” he said.

Some lawyers are finding it difficult to walk the tightrope between defending their client and being accused of personally attacking Gisele Pelicot.

“Since setting foot in this courtroom, I have felt humiliated,” said Gisele Pelicot, adding that lawyers gave the impression she was “the guilty party and those 50 men victims”.

One defence attorney, Guillaume De Palma, came under fire after he said, “there’s rape and there’s rape,” in a possible attempt to back up some of the men’s claims that they assumed they were participating in a sex game and did not set out to abuse her.

In her testimony last week, Gisele Pelicot said she was reacting to De Palma’s remarks.

“No, there are no different types of rape,” she said.

“Rape is rape”.

Another defence lawyer responded to De Palma adding, “there is no nuance in rape”.

De Palma then apologised to Pelicot, saying he had wanted to distinguish the legal definition of rape from the “media” definition.

Another lawyer representing two of the 50 co-defendants sparked public outrage when she shared on social media a video of herself seated in her car dancing to 1980s English pop duo Wham’s Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go to more than 50,000 followers.

Some interpreted Nadia El Bouroumi’s post as a reference to the fact that the 71-year-old was sedated during the alleged assaults, a claim El Bouroumi has denied.

“I’m deeply sorry if my words were misunderstood. At no point have I tried to make fun of Gisele Pelicot,” wrote the defence attorney in a subsequent post, saying she and her children had been threatened throughout the trial.

El Bouroumi is not the only lawyer who says she has been harassed.

“I have colleagues who are insulted, who are threatened. It’s complicated,” said one lawyer, who requested anonymity over safety concerns.

‘Delicacy, dignity, moderation’

Despite the challenges posed by the case, the defence lawyer for Dominique Pelicot, Beatrice Zavarro, said lawyers are doing their job by asking tough questions.

But finding the right tone and delivery is crucial.

“The defence has the right to challenge the plaintiff’s statement. You can say anything, but only if you know how to say it,” said veteran lawyer Patrick Gontard, who has defended one of the accused.

Such freedom of expression is backed up by the European Court of Human Rights, said Roland Rodriguez, ethics chairman for the National Bar Council (CNB), a group representing France’s lawyers.

“Even outside the hearing, the lawyer can... use this freedom of expression and set out his defence strategy,” said Rodriguez.

But he added that freedom of expression should be tempered by the “essential principles of the legal profession”, citing “delicacy, dignity, moderation and loyalty”. — AFP