Gisele Pelicot, the Frenchwoman who became a feminist hero in a mass rape trial last year, has told a court that she is trying to rebuild her life ‘from the ruins’.
The 72-year-old’s former husband, Dominique Pelicot, last year 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 court in southern France handed her ex-husband, also 72, the maximum term of 20 years in jail. 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, arguing that he, too, is a victim of Dominique Pelicot.
As a result, she has been forced back into court despite saying she hoped to never step foot in one again.
Gisele, who has been greeted with applause at each of her arrivals in court since the trial opened on Monday, said: ‘The damage has been done, and I will have to rebuild myself from the ruins.
‘I am well on my way.’
Dogan was sentenced to nine years in prison for rape at the original trial. He now risks a maximum of 20 years in jail.
The 44-year-old argued he was not a ‘rapist’ and insists he thought he was participating in a libertine couple’s sexual game on June 28, 2019.
Gisele Pelicot (pictured), the Frenchwoman who became a feminist hero in a mass rape trial last year, has told a court that she is trying to rebuild her life ‘from the ruins’
Both investigators and Pelicot himself have taken his arguments apart.
A total of 107 photos and 14 videos from the night Dogan visited the couple’s home in the southern town of Mazan were found on a hard drive belonging to Pelicot.
Some of that footage, which shows Dogan penetrating an inert Gisele and also trying to force her to perform oral sex on him, was shown to the court on Wednesday.
Despite the video evidence, Dogan defended himself, saying he ‘never raped anyone’. He tried to shift the blame onto Gisele’s former husband, saying he felt ‘trapped’.
‘I wanted to stop,’ Dogan said, adding: ‘I continued because he reassured me. He’s the manipulator, not me.’
A furious Gisele told him that he needs to ‘take responsibility’ for his actions.
Gisele, who famously argued that it should be the perpetrators of sexual violence, not the victims, who should be ashamed, rejected his argument outright.
‘You are in no way a victim of Mr. Pelicot. Take responsibility for your actions. I am ashamed of you,’ she said in court in the city of Nimes on the third day of the appeal trial.
Husamettin Dogan (pictured), who has arthritis and appeared at the first trial using a walking stick, is technically still a free man as his appeal has put his prison sentence on hold
Gisele, the victim of a mass rape orchestrated by her then-husband Dominique Pelicot at their home in the southern French town of Mazan, arrives with her son Florian Pelicot (right)
‘I am the only victim,’ she said.
‘At what moment did I give you my consent?’ Gisele added. ‘Never.’
Since the first trial, she has become an icon in the fight against sexual violence, and her case has set in motion a change to France’s rape legislation.
But speaking in court, Gisele pushed back against being called a symbol.
‘Stop saying I’m an icon. I’m an ordinary woman who has lifted the veil of secrecy,’ she said.
She reiterated that she hoped that sharing her story would help other victims feel less ashamed.
‘If one morning these women wake up and don’t remember, they will think of me,’ she said, adding that Dogan ‘will be a rapist for life,’ she added.
On Tuesday, lead investigator Jeremie Bosse-Platiere attacked Dogan’s arguments, citing the graphic video footage.
He said that he had remained at the scene for ‘at least three hours and 24 minutes’, according to the video timeline.
Gisele is ‘astounded by Dogan’s ‘continued denial, despite the material evidence’, one of her lawyers, Antoine Camus, told AFP.
The verdict is expected on Thursday.
