“There is no forgiveness. These men are degenerates. They have committed violations“That’s how energetic it was this Wednesday. Gisele Pelicotthe French woman who, for a decade, was drugged by her husband to raped by dozens of menin his statement this Wednesday behind closed doors in eI l Vaucluse Criminal Court in Avignon (south of France).
The new hearing of the septuagenarian, who has already become a symbol against sexual violence, in the macro-trial against her husband Dominique and 50 other men was one of the most anticipated and left no one indifferent.
Looking her rapists straight in the face, Without her sunglasses, raising her voice and without hesitation, Gisèle said very clearly what she feels after years of sexual assault, how she sees her attackers and, above all, herself. indignation in the face of the various attempts by the defences of the accused question the credibility of his testimony.
This Wednesday they were seen for the first time some of the photos and videos taken by her now ex-husband during the rapes committed by the rest of the accused. Images that some defense lawyers took advantage of to try to justify that he was conscious during the attacks by appearing in some with his eyes open.
“To me, they are degenerates. To me, they committed rape, not assault. I’m not usually this angry, but it’s okay. These are not sex scenes, this is rape“There is no forgiveness,” he stressed as soon as he took the stand. Declaring “humiliated“due to suspicions raised by some of the accused’s lawyers.
Gisele stressed that these videos can “attest” that They raped her while she was “in a coma”, the result of the powerful sleeping pills that Dominique administered to him without his knowledge,
“Is rape a matter of time? Three minutes, an hour? I am completely shocked because if these people saw their daughter, their sister in this state, what would they think?” she asked.
The daughter of PelicotCaroline, close to tears in the courtroom as her mother spoke, left the courtroom when the visual evidence was presented.
In one of the most tense moments On Wednesday, two of the lawyers representing the men Dominique invited to her home to commit the abuse asked the court to show photographs that they said cast doubt on whether the victim knew what had happened to her.
Drawing by Gisèle Pélicot at the court of Avignon.
Reuters
Gisele rejected the charges.”Are “I tried to trick myself with these photos,” she said, reiterating that she never agreed to any sexual activity. Her ex-husband already admitted Tuesday that he took all the images while his wife was unconscious.
“I felt humiliated when I was in that room. They called me an alcoholicconspirator of Mr. Pélicot. “Looks like I’m the one to blame.” he denounced, adding that his life had been “destroyed” for 10 years.
Dominique speaks to his wife
Previously, Dominique, The first time he spoke directly to his wife in nearly four years, he admitted that he had betrayed his ex-wife. “Unfortunately, my last ten years have been a disaster. I loved her very much, I didn’t respect her and I betrayed her. I repeat, I have never touched anyone else in my family, not even my children, grandchildren,” he said.
Dominique, speaking to his wife of half a decade, thanked his children for taking care of Gisèle after her arrest in September 2020.
“I thank my children for taking care of you when they imprisoned me”” said the septuagenarian, before the indifferent gaze of his ex-wife, who responded to her former husband’s justifications for the rapes.
“We all had trauma in our childhood, I suffered some myself and that’s not why I became a criminal. Afterwards, we make our own decisions,” Gisèle said.
