‘She needs to see this through’: Gisele Pelicot returns to court to confront lone appeal in mass rape case

Nevin Al Sukari - Sana'a - Gisele Pelicot is today due in court to stand up to the one man in the case who still denies he raped her. — AFP pic

NÎMES (France), Oct 8 — Gisele Pelicot, who became a feminist hero in a mass rape trial last year, is today due in court to stand up to the one man in the case who still denies he raped her.

The 72-year-old’s former husband has admitted to drugging her with sedatives and inviting dozens of strangers to rape and abuse her over nearly a decade in a case that shocked the world.

A French court handed her ex-husband Dominique Pelicot, 72, the maximum term of 20 years in jail last year. He and 49 other men convicted in the case are not appealing their sentences.

But one man, 44-year-old Husamettin Dogan, has maintained his innocence, drawing back into court the woman who publicly defied her abusers — famously arguing that it should be the perpetrators of sexual violence, not the victims, who should be ashamed.

“She would have much preferred to stay where she is and focus on her new life and her future,” one of her lawyers, Antoine Camus, told AFP.

But “she needs to see this through to the end,” he added.

Gisele Pelicot, who has been greeted with applause at each of her arrivals in court since the trial opened Monday in the southern city of Nimes, is expected to speak this morning.

She remains “astounded by the (defendant’s) continued denial despite the material evidence”, her lawyer said.

‘Never forced anyone’ 

Investigators found a total of 107 photos and 14 videos from the night Dogan visited the couple’s home in 2019 on a hard drive belonging to Dominique Pelicot.

Some of that footage, which shows Dogan penetrating an inert Gisele Pelicot and also trying to force her to perform oral sex on him, is to be shown to the court today just before she takes the stand.

Dogan, who had been sentenced to nine years in prison for rape, was also expected to give his version of events this morning.

He has claimed he never intended to rape Gisele Pelicot and was “trapped” by her ex-husband.

But Dominique Pelicot told the appeal court yesterday that Dogan had been a willing participant in his scheme.

“I never forced anyone,” he said.

Dominique Pelicot said that Dogan knew his wife would be “asleep” and that he did all sorts of “things” to her.

He also said Dogan had even asked him to lift his inert wife’s leg to “help him penetrate her from the side”.

‘3 hours and 24 minutes’ 

Earlier yesterday, investigator Jeremie Bosse-Platiere also took apart Dogan’s arguments, citing the video footage.

“I have no doubt that he was fully aware of the victim’s condition,” he said.

“Anyone who sees the videos understands this immediately.”

The police commissioner described a video in which Gisele Pelicot was seen moving slightly and Dogan immediately withdrawing.

“We understand that he is worried that his victim might wake up and freezes in a waiting position,” said Bosse-Platiere.

Dogan claims he stayed at the couple’s home for just half an hour, but the investigator said he had remained at the scene for “at least 3 hours and 24 minutes”, according to the video timeline.

He risks a maximum of 20 years in jail.

The verdict is expected tomorrow. — AFP