🔗 Share this article France's Appeal Court Uphighers Jail Time for Gisèle Pelicot Rapist A defendant was convicted on appeal of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was sedated by her husband – and was given his jail term raised to ten years. Retrial Proceedings Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had appealed his first conviction last year, faced a new trial this week at the higher court in Nîmes. A jury of nine jurors, sitting with three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her residence in southern France in the morning of June 29, 2019. The testimony revealed that the accused, a married father, connected with the victim's spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum called “without her consent”, where the husband was looking for men to visit his house to assault his wife once he had sedated her into a comatose state. “We hope the panel will affirm that in this nation, human rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is personal, not delegated,” stated the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is secured directly and not via a representative from a spouse.” Background The ex-husband, one of the worst sexual predators in modern French history, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for drugging his spouse and inviting multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a span of many years of their union. Dozens of additional defendants were found culpable in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to contest his verdict. He was first sentenced to nine years in prison, a punishment increased on Thursday to ten years. The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any accountability”. Courtroom Details The defendant had first sent the husband graphic images and then traveled an hour from his town in the region to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was going out, the court heard. The ex-husband, who was brought from segregation in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the hearing, told the court that the accused had known his wife had been “drugged” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to abuse my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her consent.” The trial became a focus point for a broader debate on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to claim he was blameless and had not perpetrated assault, arguing that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the room, his actions had been permissible. The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was shown video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, comatose and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a smiling Dogan engaged in violation multiple times over a period of what investigators stated was 3.5 hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by suffocation. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission. Defendant's Statements The defendant told the court the videos were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was violation. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He told the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the residence, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan told the court. “I proceeded because he reassured me.” Asked if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to hurt that individual.” Pelicot's Words The survivor, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds assembled to back her, addressed Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When are you going to recognise you assaulted me? It’s a crime to rape an unaware woman. At what point did I give you agreement? Never.” Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an international feminist hero after she waived her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.” Legal Commentary The prosecutor, turning to the victim in court, said the defendant's failure to take responsibility showed that: “The shame remains. Society is perhaps in the course of that, possibly motivated by the societal understanding resulting from the revelation of your ordeal.” The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how normalized violence was still common in society as part of “archaic” forms of “male domination”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a culture of consent.” Sie addressed the defendant: “For as much as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a person, it’s an whole sordid cultural framework that you are supporting.” Defendant's Background The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of five relocated to France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his father was aggressive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis at the age of 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was apprehended by authorities for dealing drugs and his parent kicked him out the family house. He served time in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder but had undergone periods of homelessness. He was wed and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The court heard his wife did not know he had repeated intimate relations beyond their union. His defence said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had stated to a evaluator that once a year he engaged in paid sex on his birthday. His lawyers informed the court he had a medical condition caused by the stress of the original case.