Gisèle Pelicot, whose husband is on trial in Avignon for having drugged her to rape her, called for the closure of aid funds and “the greatest moderation on social media”, Friday, September 6th. “METROme Gisèle Pelicot and her family would like to thank all the people who have sent in large numbers of testimonies of support from all over the world since the beginning of the process.”his lawyers, Stéphane Babonneau and Antoine Camus, said in a press release.
“However, our client is absolutely keen to preserve the dignity and serenity of the discussions currently taking place. (…) That is why he is calling for the utmost moderation on social media, does not want online support groups to be opened under any circumstances and is calling for those already open to be closed.they write.
Nabilla Benattia, a former reality TV star turned influencer, has launched at least one online prize pool. Titled “New Life for Gisèle Pélicot,” it aims to “participate in legal costs [de la victime] and help him overcome this terrible experience.”. Opened on Thursday night, it was “under verification” at the reception site on Friday at 11 a.m., after having raised nearly 40,000 euros in donations according to Agence France-Presse (AFP).
There are no closed doors for “shame to change sides”
Since its start on Monday before the Avignon criminal court, this extraordinary trial, with fifty-one defendants – the husband and fifty other men aged between 26 and 74 – accused of having raped M.me Pélicot, from July 2011 to October 2020, after her husband drugged her with anxiolytics, aroused enormous interest. The French and foreign media and social networks are passionate about the case, especially since the victim wanted the trial not to be held behind closed doors, to draw attention to the phenomenon of chemical submission and to “shame changes sides”.
Lists with the names of the accused, sometimes accompanied by cryptic comments such as “if it can be useful”circulate on the networks, especially on X. Defense attorneys also complained at the hearing of being “assaulted” on social media.
Roger Arata, president of the criminal court, composed entirely of professional judges, responded on Thursday by recalling the “fundamental principle” of the presumption of innocence. But he stressed that his power to ” police “provided for in the code of criminal procedure, was limited to what happens in the courtroom.
“Serene justice is not justice in 140 characters”
“Our clients fully understand that this case is a tragedy for the families, on both sides of the court, because the defendants did not ask for anything either.”Antoine Camus, one of M.’s lawyers, told Agence France-Presse.me Pelicot.
“Civil lawyers are considering what the scope of these hearings could mean for other families”Paul-Roger Gontard, lawyer for two of the accused, welcomed AFP. “Everyone has the right to respecthe insisted. Today, on social media, we definitively display names, professions, marital situations, lives, existences that in a few months could be recognized as innocent. “Serene justice is not justice in 140 characters on Twitter” [aujourd’hui X] »continuous. “A calm justice is a justice that, after a period of hearings and with constructed and argued debates, will allow a guilty or not guilty verdict. Otherwise it is not justice, it is a judicial firing squad.”
