Mazan rape trial: Will Dominique Pelicot and his 50 co-defendants found guilty by the court appeal?

The Vaucluse criminal court has delivered its verdict concerning the sentences of the 51 accused of the Mazan rapes. All were found guilty.

The verdict is in for the historic Mazan rape trial. The case was followed by the whole world: 180 journalists came from the United States, Japan, Brazil and even Australia this Thursday to hear the sentences handed down to the 51 people accused of having raped Gisèle Pélicot – to her husband accused of having orchestrated everything for ten years.

On September 2, Gisèle Pélicot announced that she would refuse the closed session so that her case becomes that of all women victims of sexual violence and chemical submission.

After four months of a heavy and painful trial, the Vaucluse Criminal Court finally sentenced Dominique Pelicot to the maximum penalty of 20 years of criminal imprisonment and declared all of his 50 co-defendants guilty. Will they be able to appeal?

It’s in the law: everyone has the right to appeal the decision taken at first instance, but not everyone will appeal.

Jean-Pierre Maréchal, one of the 50 co-defendants, presented as the disciple of Dominique Pélicot, also had his wife raped, and received 12 years in prison, well below the 17 years required. His lawyer said it straight away, he will not appeal.

For his part, Dominique Pélicot does not rule out this possibility. According to his lawyer, no decision has yet been made. She and her client will take advantage of the 10 days they have to think about it.

If Dominique Pélicot appeals, he will then be retried by a popular jury. Until then, he was tried by professional magistrates.

For the other defendants, there is no known decision yet. The latter will have to consider the fact that the sentences are lower than the requisitions and that if the case is retried, they would then risk seeing the sentences increased. This is a probability that exists in any case presented to the courts, and retried on appeal (then on cassation if requested).

The prosecution itself can appeal this verdict. In this case, the defendants will not have the choice of being tried again.

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