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A defendant was convicted on appeal of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her husband – and received his incarceration period extended to 10 years.

Retrial Proceedings

Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had contested his first conviction last year, experienced a appeal hearing this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A panel of five men and four women, sitting with three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping the victim in her bedroom in southern France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a family man, reached out to the victim's husband at the time, the husband, in an internet forum named “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was seeking men to enter his residence to assault his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a comatose state.

“We hope the jury will affirm that in this society, human rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is individual, not transferred,” stated the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “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 wife at the time and bringing in dozens of men to rape her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a span of many years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found convicted in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to challenge his verdict. He was originally sentenced to 9 years in prison, a punishment raised on Thursday to a decade.

The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any blame”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then driven an hour from his village in Provence to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was leaving, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was transported from segregation in prison to temporarily testify at the appeal trial, told the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “incapacitated” and he said to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to assault my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious unbeknownst to her.”

The courtroom became a central issue for a wider discussion on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to assert he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, stating that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his behavior had been permissible.

The panel in the higher court was displayed recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, unconscious and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a grinning Dogan engaged in violation on several occasions over a period of what police said was several hours. The court official said she had been at risk of death by suffocation. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unconscious and had not given permission.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant informed the court the recordings were simply “sex scenes” and denied it was assault. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He stated the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the house, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I tried to halt,” Dogan informed the court. “I continued because he convinced me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to injure that lady.”

Victim's Response

The survivor, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds assembled to stand with her, addressed Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you raped me? It is unlawful to rape an incapacitated woman. When did I ever give you agreement? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an international feminist hero after she relinquished her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's failure to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The community is possibly in the course of that, possibly propelled by the public consciousness spurred by the revelation of your situation.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how normalized violence was still common in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

The prosecutor told Dogan: “As long as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an complete disturbing cultural framework that you are upholding.”

Biographical Details

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five moved to France, where his father worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his parent was violent and that the defendant began smoking cannabis aged 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was caught by authorities for selling narcotics and his father kicked him out the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a construction worker but had experienced periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had repeated sexual encounters outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his stressful life. Dogan had stated to a evaluator that each year he engaged in paid sex on his birthday. His legal representatives stated to the court he had arthritis triggered by the anxiety of the initial proceedings.