After more than three months of trial, the Vaucluse criminal court declared guilty, Thursday, December 19, all of the accused in the Mazan rape case. “A historic verdict”, famous, from Madrid, The Country.
The main accused, Dominique Pelicot, guilty of having drugged his ex-wife, Gisèle Pelicot, and of having raped her and having her raped by strangers, was sentenced to twenty years of criminal imprisonment, with a security period for both third party – the maximum sentence, in accordance with the indictments. For the 50 other co-defendants, the court opted for a scale of sentences ranging from three years in prison, two of which were suspended, up to fifteen years in prison – below the requisitions of the attorneys general. “All guilty”, soberly comments on the Belgian daily The evening. Two defendants have already announced they will appeal.
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For Gisèle Pelicot, it is the end of a four-year fight, which began in November 2020, when she was informed of the facts by a police officer. By fighting for the hearings to be public, the victim “makes the shame change sides”, rejoices the Colombian daily The Herald. For the British tabloid Daily Mirror, Gisèle Pelicot is now “the bravest woman in the world”.
A sign that the affair has shaken up French society, “the convictions arouse indignation”, REMARK The Wall Street Journal. Feminist demonstrations were held daily in front of the Avignon court, and the accused were regularly attacked. The pleadings of certain defense lawyers also caused controversy.
Just after the announcement of the verdicts, Gisèle Pelicot spoke to an audience of journalists from around the world. She said she hoped “a future in which everyone, women and men, can live […] with respect”.
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