This Monday, September 2, the Mazan rape trial opened at the Avignon courthouse. In total, 50 men are being tried by the Vaucluse departmental criminal court for having raped Gisèle at her home, who had previously been drugged by her husband, the father of her three children. The latter is also among the accused. His lawyer speaks on BFMTV.
A “trying” first day, but one that Gisèle experienced “focused”. This Monday, September 2, the trial of the Mazan rapes opened at the Avignon courthouse. In all, 50 men are being tried by the Vaucluse departmental criminal court for having raped her at her home Gisèle, who had previously been drugged by her husband, the father of her three children. The latter is also among the accused.
“Even though it’s only the beginning, there was a major apprehension at the idea of finding herself face to face with the people who attacked her, more than fifty of them,” explains Stéphane Babonneau, one of her lawyers, on BFMTV. She was afraid of her own reactions. The reality is that she coped, she is very much surrounded by her family, who went through the inconceivable but found themselves and stood firm.”
Her client, aged 72, also wanted the trial to be heard in public, in particular to raise awareness of what “chemical submission” represents as well as “its symptoms”. “She was the victim of events that took place in a concealed manner, events that were made possible precisely by the extreme concealment for around ten years of what she was the victim of”. According to the victim, it is “necessary for everyone to know what happened in this house and for justice to be rendered in a public manner because there is a dimension of openness to society in a trial”, her lawyer said.
“This file shows the state of our society”
Among the 50 defendants, some put forward as justification for their actions that they did not think Gisèle was drugged. “This defense is inaudible,” for Stéphane Babonneau, who nevertheless judges that “everyone will have the opportunity to develop their point of view.”
“This case shows, due to the very varied profiles of the people accused, the state of our society. Today we are more at risk of finding ourselves in this situation when we are a woman. Sexual assaults affect women and men, including those under chemical submission. But when we are a woman we are exposed to being victims of this type of act in such proportions. It is also my client’s wish, through the opening of this trial to the public, that everyone can reflect on the treatment we reserve for women,” he continued.
The ordeal of Gisèle, drugged by her husband and raped by dozens of men
The victim’s lawyer finally points out that “one of the questions that arises is how each of these accused was unable to see in [sa] “The client is simply a human being and a woman.” Each faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for all those accused of rape.
Clement Boutin BFMTV journalist
