By The Guardian (World News) | Created at 2024-10-23 08:25:11 | Updated at 2024-10-23 10:32:56
2 hours ago
Opening summary
Hello. Today, Gisèle Pelicot – the woman at the centre of the mass rape trial that has shaken France – is due to address the courtroom.
Her former husband, Dominique Pelicot, 71, has admitted drugging his then-wife with sedatives and anti-anxiety medication to render her unconscious so that he and dozens of strangers he recruited in online chatrooms could allegedly rape her between 2011 and 2020 in the village of Mazan in Provence.
The 50 other men on trial, aged between 26 and 74, with professions ranging from fire officer to journalist, are alleged to have been recruited by Pelicot, who said they knew they were being invited to commit rape.
In almost two months of testimony, the court has heard from dozens of accused men. The majority denied rape.
Some of the accused men have admitted Pelicot told them he was drugging his then-wife, but others have said they believed they were participating in a couple’s organised game.
The court heard briefly from Gisèle Pelicot early on the trial but now, at the midway point, judges are giving her the chance to comment on, and respond to, what the court has heard so far.
The Guardian’s Paris correspondent, Angelique Chrisafis, is at the courtroom and we will be bringing you the latest updates from Avignon.
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Angelique Chrisafis
More than a hundred members of the public had queued from before 7am outside the Avignon criminal court to listen to Gisèle Pelicot from an adjacent room where proceedings are transmitted.
“What happened was so horrible that it’s important for a maximum of people to be here to show support,” said one 73-year-old artist from Avignon.
On fortifications opposite the court, a banner read “A rape is a rape.” Across Avignon, many streets had been papered with collage in support of Gisèle Pelicot, with messages such as: “Gisèle – womeon thank you.”
Gisèle Pelicot arrived at the courthouse shortly before 9am local time and was applauded by onlookers as she has been thoughout the trial, which - after requesting it be open to the public - she has attended almost daily since it began on 2 September.
Franco Info radio’s police and crime correspondent filmed her arrival.
Opening summary
Hello. Today, Gisèle Pelicot – the woman at the centre of the mass rape trial that has shaken France – is due to address the courtroom.
Her former husband, Dominique Pelicot, 71, has admitted drugging his then-wife with sedatives and anti-anxiety medication to render her unconscious so that he and dozens of strangers he recruited in online chatrooms could allegedly rape her between 2011 and 2020 in the village of Mazan in Provence.
The 50 other men on trial, aged between 26 and 74, with professions ranging from fire officer to journalist, are alleged to have been recruited by Pelicot, who said they knew they were being invited to commit rape.
In almost two months of testimony, the court has heard from dozens of accused men. The majority denied rape.
Some of the accused men have admitted Pelicot told them he was drugging his then-wife, but others have said they believed they were participating in a couple’s organised game.
The court heard briefly from Gisèle Pelicot early on the trial but now, at the midway point, judges are giving her the chance to comment on, and respond to, what the court has heard so far.
The Guardian’s Paris correspondent, Angelique Chrisafis, is at the courtroom and we will be bringing you the latest updates from Avignon.
