Jérôme V., 46 years old, Jean T., 52 years old, Redouane E., 55 years old: the Mazan rape trial began its fifth week of hearing on Monday with the continuation of the parade of the 50 co-accused of Dominique Pelicot, 71 years old , excused for the day for medical reasons.
“He is unwell. He must undergo a medical procedure this afternoon. I have excused him for the day. (…) We will provide an update on his state of health at the end of the day,” explained at the start of the hearing the president of the Vaucluse criminal court, Roger Arata.
In his absence, the court therefore began to address the cases of a third group of co-defendants, seven of the fifty men whom Dominique Pelicot had invited on the internet, over ten years, from July 2011 to October 2020, to come and rape his wife, after he had drugged her with anxiolytics. Over the past two weeks, the cases of the first ten co-accused had been studied.
Most of them are being prosecuted for aggravated rape, and they face up to 20 years of criminal imprisonment. Eighteen of these accused, including Dominique Pelicot, appear detained. Thirty-two others appear free, the last, on the run, being tried in absentia.
At the opening of the debates Monday morning, the president of the court indicated that a slot would be devoted Thursday afternoon to a contradictory debate concerning the broadcast or not of the videos of the rapes in the absence of the public and in particular journalists. A decision taken by Mr. Arata which deeply divides the parties to the trial.
trial of the Mazan rapes rapes of Mazan Dominique Pelicot Gisèle Pelicot
