The professional magistrates making up the Vaucluse criminal court in Avignon can request the maximum sentence against Dominique Pelicot, namely 20 years of criminal imprisonment, on which those of the other accused will depend.
The Mazan rape trial enters its final stretch on Monday with the prosecution's indictments, which begin with Dominique Pelicot, this septuagenarian who for ten years drugged, raped and had his wife raped.
The sentences that the representatives of the public prosecutor, Jean-François Mayet and Laure Chabaud, will demand will be scrutinized, as this trial has become a global symbol of the fight against violence against women – the international day of which will, by chance of the calendar, be marked Monday. And both the main victim, Gisèle Pelicot, 71, achieved the status of feminist icon after refusing to allow the trial to take place behind closed doors, “so that shame changes sides».
Before the professional magistrates making up the Vaucluse criminal court in Avignon, they will begin with “conductor» of this decade of rape. Dominique Pelicot, common denominator of the 50 co-accused recruited on the internet to whom he had delivered his now ex-wife, previously sedated with anxiolytics, to their marital home in Mazan between July 2011 and October 2020.
Up to 20 years of criminal imprisonment
It is difficult to imagine that they are not demanding the maximum sentence against him, 20 years of criminal imprisonment, on which all the others will depend. Dominique Pelicot has never hidden his responsibility, calling himself “rapist». «I am guilty of what I did (…) I ruined everything, I lost everything. I have to pay“, he said shortly after the start of the trial.
But what sentences will the public prosecutor seek against his 50 co-defendants? Because even if most are prosecuted for the same facts, namely aggravated rape of Gisèle Pelicot, and therefore also risk 20 years in prison, the individualization of sentences is obligatory. For example, to distinguish repeat offenders – ten men came several times – from those who came only once to Mazan.
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According to the official schedule, the indictment is scheduled for three days. But according to information collected from the various parties by AFP, it could end late Wednesday morning, with the prosecution estimating the time it will spend on each accused at around 15 minutes on average.
After the Pelicot case, the prosecution will advance crescendo: first the less serious cases, those of Joseph C., 69 years old, and Hugues M., 39 years old, respectively accused of sexual assault and attempted rape, before tackle the 48 others (including one on the run).
“Courage and dignity”
Covered almost worldwide, with 138 accredited media including 57 foreigners, the trial has an echo well beyond French borders. As the president of the Chilean Chamber of Deputies, Karol Cariola, testified again on Thursday, welcoming “courage and dignity” by Gisèle Pelicot, “an ordinary citizen who taught the whole world a lesson“. The day before, it was the German Interior Minister, Nancy Faeser, who called to hear “the message» by Gisele Pelicot.
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And this weekend, tens of thousands of people – many women but also men – marched throughout France to demand a “startle» against violence against women, many referring to this extraordinary trial.
After the indictment, Wednesday afternoon or Thursday at the latest, the defense lawyers will have the floor. Dominique Pelicot's lawyer, Béatrice Zavarro, will open the ball. His colleagues will then follow one another until December 13. The court will then have a week to deliberate, with a verdict expected on December 20 at the latest.
