A court hearing a French man accused of enlisting dozens of strangers to rape his highly intoxicated wife ruled on Friday that the public can attend when video evidence is shown, overturning an earlier ruling. Gives.
Lawyers for victim Gisele Pellicot – the ex-wife of lead accused Dominic Pellicot – hailed the verdict announced by Judge Roger Arata as a “victory”.
An “announcement allowing people of sensitive nature and minors to leave the courtroom” will be made before the screening of the images, the judge said.
Since the trial began on September 2, the court in the southern city of Avignon has been reserved for court members, parties and the press.
The public is kept in an adjacent room where the proceedings are screened live.
However, the screening of video evidence “will not be systematic” and will take place only when “it is strictly necessary to uncover the truth” at the request of one of the parties, Arata said.
Dominic Pellicott filmed much of the abuse against his wife and also kept meticulous records of strangers visiting the family home, inadvertently helping the police uncover the crimes.
He was initially investigated when he was caught taking photographs up women’s skirts in a supermarket in 2020.
Last month the judge banned the broadcast of the images in the presence of the public and press, saying: “Bearing in mind that these images are indecent and shocking, this will only be done in the presence of the parties to the case and the court.”
But lawyers for Gisele Pellicote – who have insisted on keeping the trial open to the public to draw attention to the use of drugs for sexual exploitation – called for the ban to be lifted.
– ‘Find meaning in suffering’ –
The verdict is a “triumph” but “a victory in a battle that should not have been fought,” said lawyer Stéphane Babonneau, arguing that French law has given rape victims the right to decide for more than 40 years. Has given the right to decide whether action should be taken or not. public.
Gisele Pellicot’s willingness to highlight her suffering won widespread praise and made her a feminist icon in France.
“For Gisele Pellicot, it’s too late. The damage has been done,” Baboneau said.
“But if this same hearing, through its publicity, helps prevent other women from going through this, then they will find meaning in their suffering.”
The trial, which is scheduled to last until December, is currently hearing testimony from others facing charges of responding to Dominic Pellicott’s call and raping Gisele Pellicott.
Forty-nine other men are accused of raping or attempting to rape Gisele Pellicot. Another admitted knocking his wife unconscious so he and Dominic Pellicott could sexually assault her.
Some lawyers of the other 50 accused strongly opposed the screening of the video evidence.
“What’s the point of these insurrectionist screenings that aren’t needed to pursue justice?” said lawyer Olivier Lantelme.
Paul-Roger Gontard said, “We do not have to go from a popular tribunal to a mob tribunal in the name of the French people.”
But for Antoine Camus, another lawyer on Gisele Pellicot’s team, the videos “demolish the argument for accidental rape”.
“They show that these were opportunistic rapes and, beyond that, it was a question of humiliating, humiliating and denigrating, it was really a question of hatred towards women.
He said, “Nobody (among the defendants) condemned what was happening, each made his or her own small contribution to this triviality of rape, this triviality of evil.”
Dominique Pellicot’s lawyer Beatrice Zavaro, who previously supported the screening of the video, did not express an opinion on the issue on Friday.
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