Dominique Pelicot returns to court after being hospitalized

Dominique Pelicot, the main accused in the Mazan rape trial, where 51 men are on trial for having raped Gisèle Pelicot while her husband had drugged her with anxiolytics, returned to the Vaucluse criminal court this Friday, November 15, 2024. Thursday, Gisèle Pelicot's ex-husband was hospitalized in Marseille for an intervention, the nature of which was not specified. At the beginning of September, he had already missed a whole week of trial for health reasons.

Study of the facts concerning seven accused

Thursday, in the absence of Dominique Pelicot, the court heard Laurent Chaïb, expert psychologist. Several witnesses called to the stand by the defense of two of the accused of the week were then heard.

This Friday, the return of the main accused to the courtroom allows the court to concretely study the facts concerning the seven accused of the week, aged 30 to 69 years old. According to the president of the court, Roger Arata, this examination should extend until Monday.

Verdict on December 20

As noted byAgence France PresseMonday should then be devoted to the hearing of the two sons of the Pelicot couple, David and Florian, the only two members of the family not yet to have been heard by the court, in Avignon.

After having given the floor to the accused one last time, the Vaucluse criminal court, composed solely of professional magistrates, will then retire to deliberate, with a verdict expected on December 20 at the latest.