🔗 Share this article France's Higher Tribunal Raises Prison Term for Gisèle Pelicot Rapist A defendant was convicted on retrial of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her husband – and received his incarceration period increased to a decade. Retrial Proceedings Husamettin Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had contested his first conviction last year, underwent a new trial this week at the higher court in Nîmes. A jury of four women and five men, sitting with three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her residence in Provence in the morning of 29 June 2019. The evidence showed that the accused, a married father, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform titled “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was looking for men to enter his residence to assault his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state. “We hope the jury will declare that in this country, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that permission is personal, not given by another,” said the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is obtained directly and not via a representative from a husband.” Case History The husband, a notorious sex offenders in recent French history, was handed a sentence to 20 years in prison last year for incapacitating his then wife and inviting multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a duration of almost a decade of their union. Fifty other men were found guilty in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to contest his conviction. He was first sentenced to 9 years in prison, a sentence increased on Thursday to ten years. The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any blame”. Testimony and Proof Dogan had first sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his town in the region to assault the victim, after informing his wife he was leaving, the court heard. The ex-husband, who was transported from isolation in prison to briefly give evidence at the hearing, stated to the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “incapacitated” and he said to men by phone: “I want someone to violate my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her knowledge.” The courtroom became a key topic for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to say he was blameless and had not perpetrated assault, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the residence, his actions had been acceptable. The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with video evidence of the victim's limp body, sedated and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a grinning Dogan performed assault repeatedly over a timeframe of what police said was three and a half hours. The presiding judge said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by suffocation. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unconscious and had not agreed. Accused's Testimony Dogan stated to the court the recordings were simply “intimate moments” and disputed it was violation. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He stated the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the home, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” the accused informed the court. “I proceeded because he reassured me.” Asked if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to harm that lady.” Victim's Response The victim, who was cheered upon departing the trial each day by onlookers assembled to stand with her, said to the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It is illegal to rape an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you permission? Never.” Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an international feminist hero after she gave up her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.” Prosecutor's Remarks The prosecutor, turning to the victim in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take responsibility showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The community is maybe in the midst of that, possibly motivated by the public consciousness spurred by the revelation of your ordeal.” Sie said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “outdated” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.” The prosecutor addressed the defendant: “As long as you reject it, it’s not just a person, it’s an entire disturbing societal structure that you are endorsing.” Biographical Details The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to the nation of France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The evidence indicated that his father was aggressive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana at the age of 10. When he was 17 he was apprehended by police for dealing drugs and his parent evicted him of home. He served time in prison for narcotics offenses in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of being unhoused. He was married and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The court heard his wife did not know he had regular intimate relations outside their union. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had informed a evaluator that once a year he engaged in commercial sex on his special day. His attorneys informed the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the stress of the original case.