Cover image: Gisèle Pelicot in Avignon, September 16, 2024. CHRISTOPHE SIMON / AFP
The continuation of the rape trial in Mazan was shrouded in thick fog on Monday 16 September, as the health of the main defendant, Dominique Pelicot, who had been absent for a week, had not improved.
The hearing was adjourned again on Monday. Mr. Pelicot is due to be examined by doctors today to determine whether he is fit to appear. Only after the doctors’ conclusions will a decision be taken on whether or not to postpone this extraordinary trial which began on September 2 and in which fifty-one defendants are being tried for the rapes of Gisèle, Mr. Pelicot’s ex-wife, in this emblematic case of sexual violence and chemical submission.
“Words cannot express how abnormal the situation is that we find ourselves in this morning. There are people whose job it is to ensure that Mr. Pelicot is able to attend his trial.”said one of the lawyers for the civil parties, Stéphane Babonneau, at the hearing. “If this situation is due to a delay in treatment, it would be a scandal.”he added.
The attorney general said “I regret this situation,” and Béatrice Zavarro, Pelicot’s lawyer, criticized her client’s lack of medical care“We were held hostage for eight days, because if they had taken care of him from the beginning we wouldn’t be here.”he explained to the audience.
From 3pm, Henri Seckel, journalist from Worldwill answer your questions about this trial he is covering.
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