The criminal court of Vaucluse will deliberate tomorrow, Thursday December 19, at 9:30 a.m. in theMazan rape case.
And trial which saw 51 men answer for their actions before the justicewith Dominique Pelicot, the main accused, at the heart of the criminal system. Since September, the hearings have lifted the veil on years ofsexual assault suffered by Gisele Pelicot. Perpetrated in chilling silence.
What should we expect from the day of the verdict?
Mazan rapes: unbearable facts
The beginning of the nightmare dates back to 2011 for Gisèle Pelicot: her husband, Dominique, drugged her for nine years, allowing dozens of men to sexually assault her while she was unconscious.
The images and videos, preserved by themain accusedconstituted damning evidence, triggering the case in 2020 when he was arrested for voyeurism. Evidence which revealed a sordid organization, where the accused – from all social and professional backgrounds, aged between 27 and 74 – went to the Pelicot home, in Mazan, after interacting with Dominique Pelicot on the Coco.fr website. .
A trial in the spotlight
As soon as it opens in September 2024, the Mazan rape trial attracted national and international attention. As evidenced by the presence of 172 accredited media, including 82 foreigners for the deliberations.
The prosecution requested sentences ranging from four to twenty years of criminal confinement. Dominique Pelicotdescribed as the conductor, faces the maximum sentence.
A reinforced security system in Avignon
To prevent everything overflowthe court announces a “reinforcement of police personnel“as well as a”filtering at the outside entrance“.
Several defense lawyers, moreover, recall that “prison administration protocols require the presence of three guards per incarcerated accused“. That’s a mobilization of around 150 agents.
Several feminist collectives, including the Amazones d’Avignon, have announced their intention to come together to make themselves heard.
