For several days, the debates taking place during the Mazan rape trial have been marred by tensions and controversies both inside and outside the courtroom.
It has been talked about for several days as a “historic” trial. The Mazan rape trials were described by commentators as “historic” and “extraordinary” when they opened on September 2nd. Already by the number of accused (51 present), by the facts alleged – rapes under chemical submission – by the duration of the facts alleged – almost 10 years – but also by the decision of the victim, Gisèle Pelicot, to open the debates by waiving the closed hearing.
Three weeks of hearings have passed and the atmosphere in this Avignon courtroom has changed. Dozens of journalists from all over the world have come to attend the debates as well as dozens of anonymous people, who have come to support Gisèle Pelicot. This Friday, there were even more of them, nearly a hundred, who came to applaud the septuagenarian. At the same time, tensions have appeared both inside and outside the courtroom.
· Restricted distribution of videos upsets lawyers
The announcement came unexpectedly. This Friday morning, the president of the Vaucluse criminal court decided to restrict the broadcasting of videos to only the parties in the case, namely the court, the attorneys general, the lawyers for the civil parties and the defense and their clients. A decision taken in the name of “decency and morality” while the lawyers had challenged the magistrate only on the systematic broadcasting of each video for each accused.
So out went the journalists who could report to the general public the reality of the facts discussed. On the first day of the trial, Gisèle Pelicot had agreed for the proceedings to be public, including during the viewing of these videos filmed by Dominique Pelicot, sometimes by some of her co-accused, of the acts they subjected Gisèle Pelicot to, as she was asleep. On Thursday, only the public present in the broadcast room had been invited to leave, as the presiding judge could not control any possible slip-ups.
For the civil party, the decision of the presiding judge of the criminal court, Roger Arata, taken in the name of his discretionary power, is a way of “establishing a form of closed-door proceedings”. “Without these videos, there would be no trial”, recalls Me Antoine Camus, lawyer for Gisèle Pelicot and her children. “This is therefore saying that it is the case that is unworthy, that it is the debates that are unworthy.” For his colleague, Me Babonneau, “when we hear that we must protect Mrs. Pelicot’s dignity, it is difficult not to think that we are protecting impunity.”
If Gisèle Pelicot had “the ambition to shake things up”, “for this society to change, we must have the courage to confront the reality of rape”, added Me Stéphane Babonneau.
· Lawyer’s statements cause controversy
It is a video of a few dozen seconds that provokes incomprehension, even consternation, among many of those who have seen it. Nadia El Bouroumi, lawyer for two defendants who deny the intention of rape in this trial, films herself in her vehicle dancing to a song by Wham! Wake me up before you go goliterally “Wake me up before you leave”. Questioned on BFMTV about the choice of this song, which does not seem insignificant, she protests:
“There is no indecency. In my caption, I explain that you have to get up early to muzzle me.”
Nadia El Bouroumi has been regularly publishing videos on her Instagram account for four years, she says, discussing how the justice system works and the cases in which she is involved.
In one of her stories, she returns to another sequence during the debate that was, to say the least, surprising. “There was a debate about the public presentation of these photos. I am a woman and I am embarrassed. We did not want it to be broadcast in front of everyone. You are angry, but you are also responsible for this broadcast”, shouted Me El Bouroumi at Gisèle Pelicot, who had just been asked if she was not an “exhibitionist”.
For the criminal lawyer, it is her natural tone, her “energy”. “My strategy is not to say that Ms. Pelicot is not a victim. I explain that I understand during my intervention that, when she is under chemical submission, contrary to what the expert told us, she is not a dead weight. Technically, we can discuss chemical submission and the consequences that it can have.” The criminal lawyer explains that she has been the victim of insults and threats since the beginning of the trial.
· Lawyer’s cries against Gisèle Pelicot shock
The scene described is surreal. On Wednesday, Gisèle Pelicot is questioned by the defense lawyers. The civil party had already spoken ten days earlier about her life with Dominique Pelicot and the abuse she had suffered. For the lawyers of the accused, the vast majority of whom deny the intention of rape, the challenge is to demonstrate at least that their clients may have been deceived by Dominique Pelicot. They have therefore requested the publication of photos of Gisèle Pelicot in which she appears conscious and consenting.
“Between ‘I baited’, ‘I pretended’, ‘I was drunk’, ‘I was an accomplice’, now they are trying to distribute photos taken by Mr. Pelicot to make me look guilty. Who is the guilty party in this courtroom?” she said.
“When you receive photos like these, you can say to yourself that this is a woman who likes sex games,” said lawyer Nadia El Bouroumi. “I am very surprised by these photos that were taken without my knowledge,” replied Gisèle Pelicot. Then, the latter returned to the statement of a lawyer last week considering that there is “rape and rape”, opposing, according to her logic, voluntary rape and involuntary rape.
A meter away from her, Mr. de Palma, the lawyer who made this statement, rebelled, shouting at the civil party. “I am sorry that the remarks were shocking, my intention was to recall the rules of law. But madam, we must not add salt to the debate!” And he began to shout: “With this controversy you have succeeded in your coup!” The president of the criminal court did not intervene to put an end to the scene.
· Tensions between the public and the accused are mounting
32 of Dominique Pelicot’s 50 co-accused appear free. A situation that means they have to enter the courtroom through the same entrance as the public. They also wander around the same places, whether at the coffee machine or in the toilet line. Since the beginning of the week, the public, increasingly present, regularly boos these men as they enter the courtroom. “Rapists”, “shame”, emanate from this crowd.
While these men were already heated by the presence of the journalists and their cameras, the tension rose a notch. Verbal violence against the journalists was reported. A video showing insults and threats made by one of the accused against a woman who deplored the situation for “her mother” was also broadcast.
The court therefore decided this week to increase the number of police officers present each day to ensure the security of the trial. A system that will be adapted to the presence of the public and journalists.
· Dominique Pelicot’s state of health raises questions
The holding and organization of the trial were suspended due to Dominique Pelicot’s state of health. The main accused in this trial suffered from intestinal pain from Friday, September 6, and his recovery could not be confirmed until Tuesday, September 17.
[INÉDIT] Mazan rape trial: what medical care for the detainees?
After an initial exemption on Monday, September 9, on Tuesday, September 10, at the request of his lawyer, the president of the court had said that he was ordering a forensic medical examination to assess the septuagenarian’s ability to appear. A medical certificate had in the meantime been issued stating that Dominique Pelicot was fit. The examination was therefore suspended. The following day, as the accused was still in poor condition, he was again exempted.
During the day, according to his lawyer, he saw a doctor at the Pontet prison in Avignon who prescribed him a medication, which was “not in stock”. “Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, he remained alone in the back of his cell, without receiving any care”, deplored Me Béatrice Zavarro, referring to “lamentable care”.
It was only on Sunday that he was hospitalized. A blood test and a scan were carried out by the doctors, revealing a urinary infection, a clot in the bladder and a prostate problem. The forensic expertise was finally carried out. 24 hours later, Dominique Pelicot returned to the dock, and answered the court’s questions.
All parties have expressed their “anger” at this situation. The interrogation of Dominique Pelicot, whose majority of the accused implicate him and claim to have been manipulated by him, had to be postponed by a week. In addition to respecting his right to dignity, the possibility of questioning him can provide answers to the many questions that arise in this trial.
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