The main accused in the Mazan rape case, who was due to return to the Vaucluse departmental criminal court this Wednesday, September 11, will not attend the proceedings for health reasons.
With his head tucked into his shoulders, in a position almost like he was asleep, Dominique Pelicot once again made a quick return trip this Wednesday, September 11, to the accused’s box. A “detailed medical certificate” had nevertheless allowed the president, Roger Arata, to confirm the return the day before the Vaucluse departmental criminal court of the main accused in the Mazan rape case. “I found him lying down sleeping, he explained to me that he had vomited again, had fainted with pain in his kidneys. I am not sure that he is able to participate in the debates in a calm manner,” detailed her lawyer, Béatrice Zavarro, at the opening of the hearing, while specifying that“He saw doctors but none gave him any treatment”. Aged 71, Dominique Pelicot is being brought before the court for having raped and organized the rapes by unknown persons, recruited online, of his wife Gisèle Pelicot, who was plunged into a comatose state while using powerful anxiolytics. Facts that he himself has acknowledged.
The forensic examination, planned for Tuesday by the president and put on hold with the receipt of a medical certificate, was finally ordered this Wednesday morning so that a decision can be made. “taken this afternoon” concerning his presence at the hearing and his hearing, indicated the president, noting «to dispense» for the day. The debates resumed without him, for the second consecutive day. “This expertise is essential, it is essential that Mr. Pelicot be in a physical and mental state to appear,” approved the lawyer for the civil parties, Stéphane Babonneau. On the benches of the fifty other accused, some defense lawyers suspect a desire to avoid his hearing, initially scheduled for the beginning of this week.
When the main accused’s departure was announced, black robes rose, and some journalists left their hard-won places in the courtroom. Yet another schedule was presented. If his health permits, Dominique Pelicot could be heard on Thursday afternoon. “in the case of Jean-Pierre M.”, another accused with whom he reproduced this system of violence under chemical submission against his wife, specified Roger Arata. The hearing plan, remodeled from day to day, is abnormally choppy – the end of the interrogation of Gisèle Pelicot is still awaited, the personality investigation and the psychiatric assessments of the main accused took place in his absence. The trial, due to extend until the end of December, is progressing in a constant blur, questioning the defense lawyers on the coherence of this schedule.
