A French court is set to decide the fate of the only man still protesting his innocence in a rape case that has come to symbolise accountability for sexual violence in France.
An appeal court is due to deliver its verdict on Thursday in the case of Husamettin Dogan, the only man who continues to claim innocence among 51 convicted of raping Gisèle Pelicot – a survivor whose courage in speaking out has helped shatter taboos.
The 72-year-old’s former husband, Dominique Pelicot, admitted to drugging her with sedatives and inviting dozens of strangers to abuse her over the course of nearly a decade.
The case has drawn international attention for its scale – and for Gisele Pelicot’s decision to bring the trial into the public eye.
During the initial months-long trial last year in Avignon, Pelicot insisted on allowing the public into the courtroom. Her goal, she said, was to make sure it was the perpetrators – not the victims – who carried the shame.
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Claims of entrapment
Dogan, 44, has appealed his conviction and nine-year prison sentence.
In an appeal trial that opened in the southern city of Nîmes on Monday, the former construction worker argued he was “trapped” by Dominique Pelicot in 2019 and claimed he never intended to rape Gisele.
Gisèle Pelicot addressed the court directly on Wednesday, saying Dogan must “take responsibility” for his actions.
An investigator testified earlier that evidence from Dominique Pelicot’s hard drive showed Dogan had been at the Pelicot house for at least three hours and 24 minutes – far longer than the half hour he initially claimed.
Video footage presented in court showed Dogan penetrating an unconscious Gisèle Pelicot.
The prosecution called on the court to reject his appeal and up his sentence to 12 years.
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‘You don’t touch a sleeping victim’
Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus, urged the jury to send a powerful message with its verdict.
“You don’t touch a sleeping victim,” he said. “We hope this jury will say loud and clear that in France, human rights are also women’s rights – that you cannot get consent from a husband, and that a sexual act imposed on a sleeping body is a rape.”
Last year, five judges found Dominique Pelicot and his 50 co-defendants guilty. This time, the decision rests with a jury of five men and four women, who are expected to deliver their verdict in the afternoon.
During the original trial, prosecutors sought a 12-year sentence for Dogan, with public prosecutor Laure Chabaud calling on the court to hand down punishments that would stand as “a testament for future generations”. Ultimately his term was reduced on health grounds.
The other men received sentences ranging from three years – some partly suspended – to 15 years for one man who repeatedly visited the Pelicot home to assault Gisele.
Another was sentenced to 12 years for abusing his own wife, with Dominique Pelicot’s participation.
Throughout the proceedings, Gisele Pelicot has remained an unflinching advocate for survivors of sexual violence.
Speaking at the court on Wednesday, she stressed: "Victims should never be ashamed of what was forced upon them."
(with newswires)
