The curtain falls on the mass rape trial that shocked the world and saw Gisèle Pelicot emerge as a feminist hero.
After two and a half months of hearings, the Criminal Court in Avignon on Thursday found 51 defendants guilty of the rape, attempted rape and sexual assault of Gisèle Pelicot. The majority of defendants were handed prison terms of three to 15 years – less than the four to 18 years demanded by the prosecution.
Gisèle Pelicot’s ex-husband, Dominique Pelicot, received the heaviest sentence of 20 years in prison for drugging his wife and inviting strangers he met online to rape her for nearly a decade. He received a two-thirds minimum sentence period, meaning he won’t be eligible to ask for early release until at least two-thirds of his sentence has been served.
Dominique Pelicot’s lawyer, Béatrice Zavarro, who said she would consider an appeal, described her client as “stunned”. But she also expressed hope that Gisèle Pelicot would find solace in the rulings.
“I wanted Mrs. Pelicot to be able to emerge from these hearings in peace, and I think that the verdicts will contribute to this relief for Mrs. Pelicot,” she said.
‘Here, we judge; we do not legislate’
The shortest prison sentences were handed to two defendants, known to the media as Joseph C. and Saiffedine G., who both received three years in prison with two years suspended for aggravated sexual assault. Saiffedine G.’s crime was reclassified as sexual assault in the verdict.
Another defendant, Hassan O., who fled to Morocco and never appeared in court, was sentenced in absentia to 12 years in prison.
Around 40 of the defendants went straight from the courtroom to prison but others will not be incarcerated straight away.
The defendants have 10 days to appeal the judgment.
Overall the punishments handed down were less severe than those requested by the public prosecutor, who at the end of November called for sentences of four to 18 years for the majority of defendants and the maximum penalty of 20 years of criminal imprisonment for Dominique Pelicot.
Many of the defendants received 12-year prison sentences – slightly longer than the average sentence for rape of 11.1 years in 2022 according to the ministry of justice.
“The sentences were adjusted, and that’s a good thing,” said Roland Marbillot, a lawyer for two of the defendants.
“One of my clients won’t be incarcerated right away; the other will but will likely be released in a few weeks or months.”
Marbillot added: “I would like to remind everyone that here we judge; we do not legislate,” noting that it was a good thing that “the debate on consent did not dominate this trial”.
The mass rape trial has reignited the debate about the absence of consent as a legal criterion for rape in France.
France’s criminal code currently defines rape as a sexual act committed “by violence, coercion, threat or surprise”, with no notion of whether or not consent is necessary.
At the end of September, the outgoing Minister of Justice Didier Migaud expressed his support for including consent in the French Penal Code.
‘I think of all the unrecognised victims’
Gisèle Pelicot and her lawyers arrived at the courthouse shortly after 9am, surrounded by a swarm of cameras. Her three children, Caroline, Florian, and David, were also present with their spouses.
Inside the courtroom, the red-haired septuagenarian, dressed in a blue striped shirt, nodded as the sentences were announced.
After the hearing, Gisèle Pelicot declined to answer questions but read a statement in which she thanked her loved ones: “I think of my three children. I also think of my grandchildren, who are the future, and it is also for them that I am fighting this battle.”
She also paid tribute to the “other families affected by this tragedy” and other victims of sexual assault. To “the unrecognised victims whose stories remain in the shadows… we share the same fight,” she said.
Gisèle Pelicot did not comment on individual sentences but she said she respected the court’s verdict and did not regret her decision to make the trial public, in order to raise awareness about the use of drugs to enable sexual assault.
“By opening the doors to this trial, I wanted society to engage with the debates, and I have never regretted it,” she said.
‘Shame on justice’
Outside the courtroom supporters of Gisèle Pelicot gathered to hear the verdicts, which many felt were too lenient. Several chanted “Shame on justice!” and “Justice is complicit!” after they were announced.
“Feminists and women feel humiliated, disappointed and angry that the courts have handed down extremely low sentences,” said Blandine Deverlanges, president of the feminist collective Les Amazones d’Avignon. “Tonight, dozens of men will be going home and it’s really unbearable to think that these men will be able to spend Christmas with their families.”
Feminist groups are planning to protest at 1pm on Friday over the verdict, which they believe does not reflect the gravity of the crimes against Gisèle Pelicot.
“The question we’re asking ourselves is whether women will continue to have confidence in the justice system,” Deverlanges said. “Personally, I’m beginning to despair and I think that women are going to start organising themselves to deliver justice.”
A lawyer for one of the defendants, Christophe Bruschi, was jostled and jeered by more than 100 feminist protesters, whom he referred to as “knitters”.
Throughout the trial, tensions between the defence and some feminist groups ran high, with lawyers accusing the groups of trying to influence the judges. Three weeks earlier, city officials removed a banner reading “20 years for all”, hung on the ramparts opposite the courthouse.
For the final day of the sprawling 15-week trial, which has seen scores of defendants take the stand, the courts implemented exceptional security measures, with nearly 200 police officers and gendarmes securing the courthouse in Avignon.
In an indication of how the trial has captured global attention, there were also four broadcast rooms for journalists and the public.
At around 1:30pm a cheer rose up as Gisèle Pelicot left the courthouse under heavy police escort.
Women outside the courtroom chanted “Thank you, Gisèle!” as she slowly made her way through the crowds
This article was adapted from the original in French.
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