🔗 Share this article

An individual was convicted on appeal of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and was given his prison sentence extended to a decade.

Higher Court Case

Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a appeal hearing this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A panel of nine jurors, sitting with three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping the victim in her home in southern France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a married father, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, the husband, in an internet forum named “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was looking for men to come to his home to rape his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state.

We expect the court will say loud and clear that in this nation, human rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is individual, not given by another,” stated the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Permission is obtained directly and not through someone else from a husband.”

Case History

The ex-husband, one of the worst sex offenders in modern French history, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year for sedating his spouse and bringing in multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a duration of many years of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found convicted in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to appeal against his verdict. He was initially given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a sentence enhanced on Thursday to 10 years.

The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any responsibility”.

Courtroom Details

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his town in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was going out, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was transported from isolation in prison to briefly testify at the retrial, told the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her knowledge.”

The trial became a central issue for a broader debate on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to claim he was blameless and had not engaged in violation, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the room, his behavior had been justifiable.

The panel in the higher court was shown recorded footage of the victim's unconscious figure, unconscious and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a grinning Dogan performed assault repeatedly over a period of what investigators stated was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at peril of death by choking. The state prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unconscious and had not consented.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan informed the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was rape. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He told the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan stated to the court. “I continued because he reassured me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to hurt that individual.”

Survivor's Statement

The victim, who was applauded upon leaving court each day by onlookers present to support her, addressed the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you assaulted me? It is unlawful to assault an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you consent? At no time.”

The victim, 72, became an global icon after she relinquished her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's refusal to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. Society is maybe in the course of that, maybe driven by the public consciousness spurred by the publication of your case.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how normalized violence was still common in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “male domination”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

Sie said to Dogan: “As long as you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole sordid cultural framework that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to the nation of France, where his father worked as a concierge. The court heard that his father was aggressive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis at the age of 10. When Dogan was 17 he was stopped by authorities for selling narcotics and his father evicted him the residence. He spent time in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a construction worker but had faced periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a child with special needs, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had frequent intimate relations outside their union. His defence said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had told a court psychologist that once a year he looked for transactional encounters on his special day. His attorneys told the court he had arthritis triggered by the stress of the original case.