French mass rape survivor says 'humiliated' by lawyers' claims of complicity in her abuse
Gisele Pelicot expressed feeling humiliated during the trial of her ex-husband, after defense lawyers accused her of complicity in the abuse. She described the experience in court as degrading. Dominique Pelicot has admitted to drugging Gisele with sedatives, rendering her unconscious so that he and dozens of strangers could rape her over nearly a decade.
The former wife of a Frenchman accused of enlisting strangers to rape her while she was drugged said Wednesday she felt humiliated during his trial, accusing some defence lawyers of claiming she was complicit in the abuse.
"Since setting foot in this courtroom I have felt humiliated," Gisele Pelicot, 71, said at the trial of her former husband and 50 other men for rape.
"I'm being called an alcoholic, and someone who gets intoxicated to the point of becoming Mr Pelicot's accomplice," she said.
Dominique Pelicot, 71, has admitted slipping his then wife Gisele sedatives to render her unconscious so that he and dozens of strangers could rape her for nearly a decade.
He meticulously documented the abuse, which occurred mostly in her own bed, at their home in the southern town of Mazan.
"I was in a comatose state and the videos that will be shown will prove this," she said in court in the city of Avignon.
(AFP)
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