Husamettin Dogan is the one defendant to enchantment his conviction for assaulting Pelicot, a French lady whose case drew worldwide consideration.
Witnesses have testified that defendant Husamettin Dogan was “totally conscious” that Gisele Pelicot was asleep whereas he was assaulting her, as his enchantment unfolds in a French court docket within the southern metropolis of Nimes.
Dogan, a 44-year-old development employee, was one of 50 men convicted of sexually abusing Pelicot in a landmark case final December.
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However he has since sought to overturn his conviction, claiming he was not a “rapist” and insisting he thought he was collaborating in a consensual sexual exercise.
He’s the one defendant from that case to enchantment. He has been sentenced to 9 years in jail, decrease than the 12 years initially sought by prosecutors.
Tuesday marked the second day of his enchantment, and prosecutors offered proof to contradict his claims.
Witnesses included Pelicot’s ex-husband Dominique Pelicot, who beforehand acquired a jail sentence of 20 years, the utmost sentence, for orchestrating the assaults within the former couple’s house in Mazan.
Throughout trial final yr, Dominique Pelicot admitted that, for greater than a decade, he drugged his then-wife of fifty years in order that he and strangers he recruited on-line may abuse her. He additionally filmed the assaults, which included no less than 50 males.
In Tuesday’s listening to, he denied ever coercing or deceptive Dogan. “I by no means compelled anybody,” he mentioned. “They by no means wanted me.”
He additionally refuted Dogan’s assertion that his invitation was to take part in a sexual sport. “I by no means mentioned that,” he mentioned.
“I’ve little interest in talking in poor health of anybody, besides to inform the reality,” Dominique Pelicot added.
Dogan visited the couple’s house on June 28, 2019, the place he’s accused of assaulting Gisele Pelicot for greater than three hours. Dogan, nevertheless, has mentioned he solely realised that one thing was incorrect when he heard the girl loud night breathing.
Investigator Jeremie Bosse-Platiere additionally testified on Tuesday. He cited video footage of Gisele Pelicot’s assault to claim that Dogan was totally conscious Gisele had not consented.
“Anybody who sees the movies understands this instantly,” Bosse-Platiere mentioned.
The police commissioner described a video during which Gisele Pelicot was seen transferring barely, inflicting Dogan to right away withdraw.
“We perceive that he’s fearful that his sufferer may get up and freezes in a ready place,” mentioned Bosse-Platiere.
“After 30 seconds, seeing that it was a reflex brought on by ache or discomfort, he reintroduces his penis into her vagina.”
Investigators discovered a complete of 107 images and 14 movies from the evening Dogan visited the couple’s house within the southern city of Mazan.
Gisele Pelicot herself is ready to take the stand on Wednesday morning, with the decision anticipated later that day or Thursday.
Her choice to waive her proper to anonymity in the course of the preliminary trial was celebrated as a daring transfer for transparency, elevating consciousness concerning the prevalence of sexual assault and home violence in France and world wide.
She additionally attended the proceedings in individual and confronted her abusers in court docket. She was named a knight of the Legion of Honour, France’s high civic honour, in July.
Her case has resulted in larger momentum to reform France’s legal guidelines about rape and sexual assault.
Lawmakers in France’s Nationwide Meeting and Senate have pushed for an replace to the definition of rape below the nation’s penal code, with a purpose to embody a transparent reference to the necessity for consent. A remaining invoice is predicted to move within the coming months.
