Nîmes, FRANCE: Frenchwoman Gisele Pelicot, whose ex-husband recruited dozens of strangers online to sexually assault and rape her while drugged, arrived in court Monday (Oct 6) for an appeal trial triggered by the bid of one man who said he “never intended” to rape her.
Fifty-one men, including her former husband Dominique Pelicot, were convicted after an initial months-long trial that ended in December last year and turned Gisele Pelicot into a global icon.
Husamettin Dogan, 44, is the only defendant to have filed an appeal and maintained it.
“I never intended to do so,” he said, when asked by the presiding judge whether he accepted the charge against him.
“I am here because I never wanted to rape this lady, whom I respect,” he added.
Gisele Pelicot, 72, waived her right to anonymity and her dignified conduct throughout the trial made her a feminist hero and a symbol of the fight of women against male sexual violence.
She arrived to applause at the court in the southern city of Nimes, dressed in a pink jacket and with her son Florian – one of the three children she had with Dominique Pelicot – by her side.
She warmly shook hands with her supporters, but did not make any statement.
Dogan, who suffers from arthritis and is not in custody, made a more discreet entrance.
Hiding behind a cap, face mask and dark glasses, he walked up the court’s steps, leaning on a walking stick, an AFP video journalist said.
Source: CNA
