A French judge in the trial of 50 men accused of raping an unconscious woman has decided videos of the alleged sex attacks can be shown to the public in court.
Warning: This story contains distressing details of rape and sexual abuse
Gisele Pelicot, who has waived her right to anonymity, was allegedly drugged by her ex-husband before he invited strangers to rape her over the course of a decade.
The case has shaken France and led to hundreds of women protesting in Paris in support of Ms Pelicot, 71, and rape victims.
Judge Roger Arata’s decision to allow journalists and members of the public attending the trial to see footage of the alleged attacks marks a stunning reversal in the case.
It comes after a two-week legal battle in which journalists following the trial argued that the videos were crucial for a full understanding of the extraordinary case.
Ms Pelicot, who has become a symbol of the fight against sexual violence in France, also wants the videos to be shown as she hopes the trial will serve as a national example, one of her lawyers, Stephane Babonneau, said.
The videos will allege to show men sexually abusing Ms Pelicot’s inert body.
Ms Pelicot earlier insisted that the trial be public, against the court in Avignon’s suggestion that it be held behind closed doors.
Since the hearings started on 2 September, Ms Pelicot has come face to face almost daily with her ex-husband, Dominique Pelicot, and 49 other alleged rapists.
Gisele Pelicot with her lawyer Stephane Babonneau at the courthouse in Avignon. Pic: Reuters
She has been praised for her courage and composure, admired for speaking in a calm and clear voice and allowing that her full name be published – uncommon under French law for victims in rape trials.
“It’s a unique case: we don’t have one representation of rape. We have dozens, hundreds of videos of rape,” Mr Babonneau said.
“Gisele Pelicot thinks that this shock wave is necessary so that no one can say after this, ‘I didn’t know this was rape’.”
The explicit videos shown during the trial, which have underscored the difficulties that sexual violence victims can face in France, are especially important, Ms Pelicot’s lawyers say, since the vast majority of the defendants deny the allegations of rape.
Some defendants claim Ms Pelicot’s husband tricked them, others say he forced them to have sexual intercourse with her and that they were terrified.
People take part in a gathering in support of Ms Pelicot in September. Pic: AP
Others argue they believed she was consenting or that her husband’s consent was sufficient.
The videos, the lawyers say, speak for themselves.
With Friday’s decision, Judge Arata reversed his earlier 20 September ruling that the videos would be shown only on a case-by-case basis, and behind closed doors.
At the time, he had argued that they undermined the “dignity” of the hearings.
A day later, France’s Judicial Press Association filed a request against the decision, backed by Ms Pelicot’s lawyers.
Until now, each time a video was shown, journalists and members of the public had to leave the courtroom.
Read more:
Horror as at least 70 killed in gang massacre
Woman who had ‘ear licked’ while serving in Navy gets apology
A sketch of Dominique Pelicot in court
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Victim of Dominique Pelicot speaks
Jean-Philippe Deniau, a journalist who covers the judiciary for France Inter Radio and who has followed the trial, says the videos are essential to the people’s understanding of the case.
They would be no more disturbing than some of the evidence he has seen in the past, he said.
“When we work on trials about terrorist attacks, crimes, murders … there are always difficult moments,” Mr Deniau said.
As an example, he mentioned hearing several defendants earlier this week testify they had come to the Pelicots’ house in Provence to have consensual sexual intercourse, and that they were taking part in a “game” to see if they could get Ms Pelicot to wake up.
Mr Deniau said that following the ruling on Friday, the court was later in the day shown one four-minute recording from the collection of videos.
In his opinion, Mr Deniau said the video appeared to counter claims by the defendants of a consensual “game”.
