Some came from Portugal, others from Germany. The public began to gather in dozens during the night, Thursday, December 19, in front of the Avignon court (Vaucluse), to witness the outcome of the Mazan rape trial. After three days of deliberation, the verdict must be pronounced from 9:30 a.m., but “could be delayed by half a day or even a day”at the end of a historic trial, according to the president of the court. Dominique Pélicot, the main accused in this trial, is being prosecuted for having drugged, raped and had his wife, Gisèle Pelicot, raped by 50 men. Follow our live stream.
Gisèle Pelicot applauded. She arrived in court around 9:10 a.m., after her children, announcing that she would speak after the verdict. She was greeted by feminist activists gathered in front of the gates, who had previously chanted messages like “rapists, we see you” upon the arrival of the accused and their relatives.
MPs in the audience. The environmentalist deputies Sandrine Rousseau and Marie-Charlotte Garin, but also the LFI deputy for Vaucluse Raphaël Arnault will be at the Avignon court for the announcement of the verdict, franceinfo learned from corroborating sources.
A final hearing of uncertain duration. When listing the sentences handed down against each accused, the criminal court must provide reasons for its decision. The president may decide to read the reasons at the hearing or simply declare that he is making them available to the lawyers. If he reads them one by one, the verdict may last all day.
Sentences of four to twenty years in prison required. During a three-day indictment, the prosecution recalled the two circumstances aggravating the acts of rape or attempted rape, accused of Dominique Pelicot’s 50 co-defendants: the meeting and chemical submission. The maximum sentence was requested against the main accused, namely twenty years of criminal imprisonment. If these requisitions are followed by the five professional magistrates, all of the accused will go to prison after the announcement of the verdict, the attorneys general having systematically requested a committal warrant.
Some 180 media accredited for the event. Among them, 86 are foreigners, the prosecution said. Four broadcast rooms “with a total reception capacity of around 150 places have been set up”specified the prosecution in its press release sent on Wednesday. The courtroom accommodates, in addition to the defendants and their lawyers, a large contingent of law enforcement. The two benches and a few chairs usually reserved for journalists will all be taken. Only four media – AFP, Provence, The Dauphiné Libéré and franceinfo – will be able to access it and will be responsible for relaying what is happening there. Our journalist Juliette Campion is on site.
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